BIDEN BUMPS SAUDI CROWN PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN IN THE MIDST OF MEETING CRITICISM
Continuing his first trip to the Middle East as president, Joe Biden shared a fist bump with Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, ahead of their highly anticipated meeting, despite criticism over the Saudi stop.
According to the White House, Biden is meeting separately with the prince's father, King Salman.
Soon after 11 a.m. ET, the president stepped off Air Force One and onto a lavendar carpet in Jeddah, descending the steps and being greeted immediately by two people. He shook hands with everyone and fist bumped the first greeter. The president then proceeded to the Beast, pausing to greet a few other officials who had gathered to await his arrival. Jake Sullivan, national security adviser
Sullivan declined to say earlier this week whether the public would see the president and the crown prince shake hands, and Biden has repeatedly declined to say whether he will bring up the 2018 murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi with the president – despite immense pressure to snub the leader over alleged human rights atrocities, particularly since a US intelligence report found Mohammad bin Salman directly approved the murder operation at a Saud hotel.
As a presidential candidate, Biden vowed to declare oil-rich Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state in the aftermath of Khashoggi's murder, but the thaw in US-Saudi relations comes at a time when gas prices have skyrocketed due to the West's attempt to boycott Russian oil, ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, and as Biden faces calls to balance security interests with human rights concerns.
Biden defended his trip to the oil-rich country, writing in an op-ed for The Washington Post ahead of his visit, "my aim was to reorient – but not rupture – relations with a country that's been a strategic partner for 80 years."
"It is my responsibility as President to keep our country strong and secure," he wrote. "We must respond." Russia's aggression, position ourselves to outcompete China, and work for greater stability in a critical region of the world."
However, Sullivan downplayed the possibility of Saudi Arabia agreeing to increase oil production as a result of Biden's meetings in the kingdom on Friday, ahead of the meeting.
"I don't think you should expect any bilateral announcements here," he told reporters on AF1. When asked if the public should expect an agreement, he said broadly, "We will discuss energy security at this meeting."
Biden has spoken twice with King Salman, the crown prince's father, who officially rules the country, since taking office, but he has delegated Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to serve as his administration's point of contact. The crown prince, in what was widely perceived as a snub to Saudi King Salman.
On Saturday, Biden will attend an Arab leaders' summit in Jeddah, which the crown prince will also attend, though it is unclear how the two leaders will interact or engage there.
In his op-ed, Biden stated that he would be the first US president to fly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, calling it a "small symbol" of Israel's growing ties with the Arab world.
