Story: US President on Middle east tour; 16-07-2022;
Top priority on the trip for Biden: Reset US-Saudi relationship. Resolving Energy supply issue caused due to tensions between the two allies. Human rights, security and maintaining stability of region with cooperation with KSA.
US President Joe Biden met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia alongside with other KSA officials.
The two top leaders met first time after Joe Biden became US President for the first time.
Biden has been seen taking a critical and tough stand against the KSA's Crown Prince Bin Salman, over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which took place in Turkey.
Bin Salman met Biden with a "fist bump", as he arrived at the royal palace in Jeddah on Friday.
As Biden said he raised the murder case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in talks with MBS, the Crown prince of Kingdom defended in fashion, with a counter-attack strategy, asking what US did about the killing of Shireen Abu Aqla.
A Saudi official tells AlArabiya (an international Arabic television news channel) confirms reports that Biden brought up Khashoggi’s case, saying that MBS told Biden:“What did the US do about the [Israeli] killing of Shireen Abu Aqla”
Saudi Arabia dealt with the Khashoggi case firmly. It referred the file to the judiciary, restructured its organs, and issued fair judicial rulings against the accused. Actions precede words.
But what did America do about the killing of Abu Aqla? This is the question raised by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to a statement by an official Saudi source to Al Arabiya.