<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655305627659,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000180-1937-dba2-a7ba-39b778700000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655305627659,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000180-1937-dba2-a7ba-39b778700000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55305621", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1033199"} }); ","_id":"00000181-630d-d590-a5f1-e3bf94b40001","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe White House downplayed news of a meeting between President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto leader after the Gulf kingdom said the two would “hold official talks.”
Biden said Tuesday that a White House announcement for his visit to Jeddah next month “lays it all out,” but while the statement said the president would meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud and other regional leaders, it did not mention the crown prince.
INFLATION AND ELECTION-YEAR POLITICS OVERSHADOW BIDEN’S LATIN AMERICA SUMMIT
Asked why the Biden administration omitted the meeting from the announcement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre demurred. She said the president would “see” the crown prince.
“Look, the president is going to see over a dozen leaders on this trip,” Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. “We can expect the president to see the crown prince as well.”
A statement from Saudi Arabia said Biden would “hold official talks” with the crown prince, using a characterization the White House has resisted.
“The Crown Prince and President Biden will hold official talks that will focus on various areas of bilateral cooperation and joint efforts to address regional and global challenges,” the statement said.
The prospect of a visit has stirred controversy after Biden promised to make the “pariah” kingdom “pay” for the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A U.S. intelligence report released after Biden took office charged that the crown prince was responsible for the former Washington Post columnist’s assassination.
Jean-Pierre did not say whether Biden would bring up Khashoggi’s murder with the crown prince directly but said the White House is “not overlooking” the events.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We are not looking to rupture relationships,” she said, but she added that “human rights conversation is something that the president brings up with many leaders and plans to do so.”
A senior administration official said the president would likely do so “behind closed doors.”
<mediadc-iframe data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655223211400,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000165-15c6-d22c-a1ef-97efc26a0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655223211400,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000165-15c6-d22c-a1ef-97efc26a0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"iFrameEmbedCode":"","_id":"00000181-62fd-d702-a3cf-6ffdc2be0001","_type":"00000161-b425-d761-a563-f7e77e270000"}”>iFrame Object
