Showing posts with label MbS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MbS. Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2022

Saudi Crown Prince Granted Immunity by US over Jamal Khashoggi killing - BBC News

Nov 18, 2022 | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been granted immunity by the US in a lawsuit against him over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The announcement has been condemned by Khashoggi's family and friends. In 2018, Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul following his public criticisms of its government. The lawsuit was bought against Mohammed bin Salman after a document declassified by the Biden administration in 2021 revealed the crown prince was in some way complicit in the murder of Mr Khashoggi.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

US Court Says Saudi Crown Prince 'Immune' from Khashoggi Murder Suit | DW News

Nov 19, 2022 | Jamal Khashoggi was a Saudi dissident who fled to the US. As a Washington Post columnist he harshly criticized the kingdom and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Four years ago Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. US intelligence say the Crown Prince ordered the crime. Khashoggi's fiance sued the crown prince in a US federal court. The prince's attorneys argued a head of government enjoys sovereign immunity, and cannot be sued. Today, the Biden administration agreed. Khashoggi's fiance says the news felt like the man she loved had died yet again, while the man who had him killed escaped justice yet again.


Related links here.

Friday, November 18, 2022

U.S. Backs Immunity for Saudi Leader in Lawsuit Over Khashoggi Murder

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The State Department said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, should have legal immunity as the head of the Saudi government.

President Biden meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia in July. Prince Mohammed became prime minister in September, formalizing the power he had wielded for years as the country’s de facto ruler. | Doug Mills/The New York Times

ISTANBUL — The Biden administration has declared that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia should be granted immunity in a U.S. legal case over his role in the murder of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, effectively blocking yet another effort to hold the kingdom’s leader accountable for the grisly crime.

Mr. Khashoggi was a well-known Saudi journalist who fled Saudi Arabia for the United States and published columns in The Washington Post criticizing Prince Mohammed’s policies. In October 2018, he was killed and dismembered by a team of Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to obtain papers he needed to marry his Turkish fiancée. U.S. intelligence concluded that Prince Mohammed had ordered the operation.

Prince Mohammed, 37, became prime minister in September, formalizing the power he had wielded for years as the country’s de facto ruler, although his elderly father, King Salman, remains the official head of state. In a letter to the Justice Department on Thursday, the State Department said Prince Mohammed should be “immune while in office” as the head of the Saudi government, referring to his role as prime minister.

Prince Mohammed has said repeatedly that he had no prior knowledge of the plot against Mr. Khashoggi, but that he accepted symbolic responsibility for it as the nation’s de facto ruler. » | Ben Hubbard | Friday, November 18, 2022

Biden administration says Mohammed bin Salman should be granted sovereign immunity in Khashoggi civil case: Court filing says Saudi crown prince’s promotion to the role of prime minister meant that he was ‘the sitting head of government and, accordingly, immune’ »

Mohammed bin Salman: Saudi leader given US immunity over Khashoggi killing: The US has determined that Saudi Arabia's de facto leader - Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman - has immunity from a lawsuit filed by murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi's fiancé[e]. »

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Gravitas: Saudi Arabia Wants to Join BRICS

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has claimed that Saudi Arabia wants to join BRICS. He says Crown Prince MBS showed interest in joining the bloc during his recent meeting with him. Is Riyadh trying to disassociate itself from the West? Molly Gambhir reports.

Wednesday, October 12, 2022

US Democrats Threaten Saudi Arabia with Arms Freeze over Oil Output

THE GUARDIAN: Congress members raise prospect of one-year sales ban unless kingdom reverses Opec+ decision to cut production

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Joe Biden in Jeddah in July. The US president has reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision to cut output. Photograph: Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP/Getty Images

Democrats in the US Congress have issued a fresh ultimatum to Saudi Arabia, giving the kingdom weeks to reverse an Opec+ decision to roll back oil production or face a potential one-year freeze on all arms sales.

The threat came as Joe Biden reiterated his pledge to take action over Riyadh’s decision last week to cut oil output by 2m barrels a day, which Democrats have said would help “fuel Vladimir Putin’s war machine” and hurt American consumers at the petrol pump.

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told reporters the US president was also looking at a possible halt in arms sales as part of a broader re-evaluation of the US relationship with Saudi Arabia, but that no move was imminent. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Julian Borger in Washington | Wednesday, October 12, 2022

Saudi Arabia is choosing friends on its own terms and Biden is not one of them: Reactions in Washington to slashing oil supply have not concerned Mohammed bin Salman; nor have the optics of indirectly boosting Putin’s war »

« Le problème pour les Etats-Unis maintenant est que l’Arabie saoudite les méprise ouvertement »

LE MONDE – CHRONIQUE : Les changements de pied de Joe Biden envers Mohammed Ben Salman lui reviennent en boomerang. Mais le raidissement saoudien, qui vient de s’aligner sur les intérêts pétroliers de la Russie, relève du pari.

On ne dispose pas, malheureusement, d’instruments de mesure un peu précis pour les crises de relations bilatérales. S’il en existait un, il permettrait de jauger les tensions entre l’Arabie saoudite et les Etats-Unis. Et de dire s’il s’agit d’un accès de fièvre de plus, semblable à d’autres plus anciens et surmontés, ou de la cassure qui redéfinira les rapports entre les deux pays, pour longtemps, au terme d’un long compagnonnage engagé en 1945 entre Abdelaziz Al Saoud et Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

En quelques mois, un fist-bump s’est transformé en gifle. Le premier renvoie au salut, poing contre poing, échangé en juillet à Djedda par le prince héritier et véritable maître de Riyad, Mohammed Ben Salman, et le président des Etats-Unis, Joe Biden. Un Canossa sur la mer Rouge pour le second, qui avait promis au premier un sort de paria pour son implication présumée dans l’assassinat et le démembrement du dissident saoudien et résident américain Jamal Khashoggi en 2018. Venu mendier une hausse de la production pétrolière saoudienne pour faire baisser les prix, Joe Biden était manifestement reparti les mains vides. » | Gilles Paris, Editorialiste | mercredi 12 octobre 2022

Article réservé aux abonnés

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Regierungsumbau in Saudi-Arabien: Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman wird Premier

DER STANDARD: Umstrittener Kronprinz gewinnt bei Erneuerung des Kabinetts weiter an Macht – Khalid bin Salman neuer Verteidigungsminister

Ein Screenshot vom Foto im Artikel.

Riad – In Saudi-Arabien hat es am Dienstag nach einer Mitteilung des staatlichen Fernsehens einen Umbau der Regierung gegeben. Mohammed bin Salman, der umstrittene, aber mächtige Kronprinz, hat dabei eine weitere Schlüsselposition dazugewonnen. Er wird auch Premierminister des weitgehend absolutisisch-islamistisch regierten Königreiches. Bisher hatte sein Vater, König Salman, das Amt ausgeübt. Auch sonst wird das Amt des Premiers, des formellen Regierungschefs, gewöhnlich vom König ausgeübt. » | red. | Dienstag, 27. September 2022

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Britons Freed in Russia-Ukraine Prisoner Swap

ive Britons have been released from Russian detention in a prisoner swap brokered with help from Turkey and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince.

The exchange took place unexpectedly, following Russian President Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons.


Friday, September 16, 2022

‘Stain on Queen’s Memory’: Saudi Crown Prince’s Planned Visit Condemned

THE GUARDIAN: Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and other campaigners condemn plan

Mohammed bin Salman plans to visit London to pay respects to the Queen, a visit that has been condemned by human rights activists Photograph: Bandar al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace/AFP/Getty Images

Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to touch down in London on Sunday to pay his respects to the Queen has been condemned by Hatice Cengiz and other human rights defenders as a “stain” on the monarch’s memory and an attempt by the Saudi crown prince to use mourning to “seek legitimacy and normalisation”.

Cengiz, who was engaged to Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Istanbul consulate in 2018, said she wished that Prince Mohammed would be arrested for murder when he lands in London, but said she feared that UK authorities would turn a blind eye to serious and credible allegations against the future king.

A source has told the Guardian that Prince Mohammed will travel to the UK to deliver his kingdom’s condolences to the royal family, though there was no confirmation or information about whether he would attend the funeral service at Westminster Abbey. CNN Arabic first reported the news on Thursday night. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington | Friday, September 16, 2022

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Ostracized by the West, Russia Finds a Partner in Saudi Arabia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The two oil-producing countries have extended their partnership even as the United States and Europe have sought to punish and isolate Russia for invading Ukraine.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, left, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The leaders have worked together to prop up global oil prices. | Pool photo by Yuri Kadobnov

As Russia massed troops on its border with Ukraine and invaded the country at the start of the year, Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Company quietly invested more than $600 million in Russia’s three dominant energy companies.

Then, over the summer, as the United States, Canada and several European countries cut oil imports from Russia, Saudi Arabia suddenly doubled the amount of fuel oil it was buying from Russia for its power plants, freeing up its own crude for export.

And, this month, Russia and Saudi Arabia steered the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allied producers to reduce output targets in an effort to prop up global oil prices, which were falling, a decision that should increase the oil profits of both nations.

Taken together, the moves represent a distinct Saudi tilt toward Moscow and away from the United States, which it has typically aligned itself with. The Saudi position falls short of an outright political alliance between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but the two leaders have established an arrangement that benefits both sides.

“Obviously, Saudi-Russian ties are deepening,” said Bill Richardson, a former U.S. energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations.

By working more closely with Russia, the Saudis are effectively making it more difficult for the United States and the European Union to isolate Mr. Putin. As Europe gets ready to greatly reduce how much oil it imports from Russia, Saudi Arabia and countries like China and India are stepping in as buyers of last resort. » | Clifford Krauss | Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

The Saudi Prince: How Dangerous Is MBS? | The Economist

Muhammad bin Salman, or MBS—the millennial crown prince of Saudi Arabia—appears increasingly invincible. With the war in Ukraine disrupting energy supplies, Western leaders are eager to get their hands on his oil. But should they worry about the young prince’s power?

Thursday, August 18, 2022

Saudi Woman Given 34-year Prison Sentence for Using Twitter

THE GUARDIAN: Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University student, was charged with following and retweeting dissidents and activists

Salma al-Shehab, 34, was accused of ‘assisting those who seek to cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security by following their Twitter accounts’. Photograph: democracy now

A Saudi student at Leeds University who had returned home to the kingdom for a holiday has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for having a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissidents and activists.

The sentencing by Saudi’s special terrorist court was handed down weeks after the US president Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which human rights activists had warned could embolden the kingdom to escalate its crackdown on dissidents and other pro-democracy activists.

The case also marks the latest example of how the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has targeted Twitter users in his campaign of repression, while simultaneously controlling a major indirect stake in the US social media company through Saudi’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Salma al-Shehab, 34, a mother of two young children, was initially sentenced to serve three years in prison for the “crime” of using an internet website to “cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security”. But an appeals court on Monday handed down the new sentence – 34 years in prison followed by a 34-year travel ban – after a public prosecutor asked the court to consider other alleged crimes. » | Stephanie Kirchgaessner | Tuesday, August 16, 2022

The West Is Kidding Itself About Women’s Freedom in Saudi Arabia »

The Observer view on opposing Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing: Salma al-Shehab is in jail for the ‘crime’ of using Twitter. Football fans should stage a silent protest »

Anthony Joshua urged to speak out on human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia: Boxer receives letter from brother of man executed in March / Joshua fights Oleksandr Usyk in Jeddah on Saturday »

Friday, July 29, 2022

Bin Salman in Paris: 'Impossible to Host MBS and Have Human Rights on Agenda' • FRANCE 24 English

Jul 29, 2022 French President Emmanuel Macron hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Thursday, part of increased Western efforts to court the major oil-producing state amid the war in Ukraine and faltering talks to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.

French opposition figures and human rights groups have criticised Macron's decision to invite to dinner at the Elysee a man that Western leaders believe ordered the murder in 2018 of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

'It's impossible to host MBS and have human rights on agenda', ALQST's Lina Al-Hathloul said. #MBS #Al-Hathloul #SaudiArabia




Liens associés /Verwandt.

Macron rollt dem saudischen Kronprinzen in Paris den roten Teppich aus: Der französische Staatspräsident Emmanuel Macron hat Mohammed bin Salman zum Diner im Élysée-Palast empfangen. Die linke Opposition und Menschenrechtsorganisationen sind entsetzt und erinnern an den Mord an Khashoggi. »

Mohammed Ben Salman : une visite embarrassante

LE MONDE – ÉDITORIAL : Jeudi 28 juillet, Emmanuel Macron a accueilli le prince héritier saoudien à l’Elysée, à Paris. Cette rencontre avec « MBS », suspecté d’avoir commandité l’assassinat de Jamal Khashoggi, fragilise la cohérence d’ensemble de la parole de la France sur les sujets internationaux.

La torpeur de l’été n’a pas empêché de braquer les projecteurs sur la visite à Paris du prince héritier saoudien, Mohammed Ben Salman (« MBS »), la première au sein de l’Union européenne depuis l’assassinat, en 2018, du journaliste du Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi. Le fils du roi Salman est suspecté par les services de renseignement américains d’avoir commandité ce meurtre particulièrement sordide, perpétré à l’intérieur du consulat d’Arabie saoudite à Istanbul. L’affaire s’est soldée par une parodie de justice, dont « MBS » est sorti blanchi.

Après un passage par Athènes, le prince héritier a été reçu, jeudi 28 juillet, pour un dîner de travail avec Emmanuel Macron. La rencontre a provoqué un concert d’indignations de la part des organisations de défense des droits de l’homme, que les arguments de realpolitik invoqués par l’Elysée en plein conflit russo-ukrainien n’ont pas réussi à couvrir. » | Éditorial « du Monde » | vendredi 29 juillet 2022

Verwandter Link auf Deutsch.

Liens connexes en français.

Macrons herzlicher Händedruck

Der französische Präsident Emmanuel Macron und der saudische Kronprinz Muhamad Bin Salman am Donnerstag in Paris | Bild: Getty

SAUDISCHER KRONPRINZ IN PARIS

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der saudische Kronprinz Muhammad Bin Salman war in Europa lange geächtet. Er soll die Ermordung des Journalisten Khashoggi gebilligt haben. Emmanuel Macron empfing ihn jetzt ungewöhnlich herzlich in Paris.

Mit einem langen Händedruck vor den Kameras im Innenhof des Elysée-Palastes hat Emmanuel Macron dem saudischen Kronprinzen Muhammad Bin Salman am Donnerstagabend einen ungewöhnlich herzlichen Empfang bereitet. „Wir beglückwünschen uns zum verstärkten Austausch zwischen dem Königreich Saudi-Arabien und Frankreich“, heißt es im Abschlusskommuniqué, das am Freitag veröffentlicht wurde.

Bei ihrer Begegnung in Dschidda Mitte Juli hatten der amerikanische Präsident Joe Biden und Bin Salman nur kurz die Fäuste zur Begrüßung aneinandergestoßen. Biden gab sich sichtlich Mühe, distanziert aufzutreten, während Macron in Paris lange Minuten für die Kameras mit Bin Salman posierte und sich ein zweites Mal für die Fotografen mit dem Gast aus Saudi-Arabien an der gläsernen Eingangstür zum Elysée-Palast aufstellte. Der Kronprinz wurde vom Präsidenten zu einem Abendessen unter vier Augen empfangen, wie das Präsidialamt mitteilte. Zeitgleich fand ein Abendessen der wichtigsten Minister mit ihren saudischen Counterparts statt. » | Von Michaela Wiegel in Paris | Freitag, 29. Juli 2022

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Thursday, July 28, 2022

La visite du prince héritier saoudien « MBS » à l’Elysée provoque la colère des défenseurs des droits de l’homme

LE MONDE : Emmanuel Macron reçoit, jeudi soir, Mohammed ben Salmane, dont c’est la première visite en Europe depuis l’assassinat du journaliste Jamal Khashoggi par des agents saoudiens.

Le prince héritier saoudien, Mohammed Ben Salman, à Athènes, le 26 juillet 2022. LOUISA GOULIAMAKI / AFP

L’entente entre le royaume et la France ne passe pas inaperçue. Pour sa première visite en Europe depuis l’assassinat en 2018 du journaliste Jamal Khashoggi, Mohammed Ben Salman dîne, jeudi 28 juillet, avec Emmanuel Macron, suscitant la colère des défenseurs des droits de l’homme.

Cette venue en France est « une honte », a ainsi réagi sur Franceinfo Abdullah Alaoudh, directeur pour la région du Golfe de l’organisation Democracy for the Arab World Now, une organisation de défense des droits de l’homme américaine, dont Jamal Khashoggi avait eu l’idée, peu avant son assassinat. « Nous pensons que MBS cherche à blanchir ses crimes. Il a soutenu les leaders de la guerre en Libye et ailleurs, et qui a arrêté tant d’activistes, de défenseurs pacifiques et d’humoristes en Arabie saoudite », a-t-il souligné.

« Il y a vraiment une réhabilitation au niveau international de MBS. Et cet individu, c’est un meurtrier », a accusé Agnes Callamard, la secrétaire générale de l’ONG Amnesty International, sur France Inter. Cette dernière avait mené une enquête sur l’assassinat de Jamal Khashoggi, chroniqueur du Washington Post et critique du pouvoir saoudien, lorsqu’elle était rapporteure spéciale de l’ONU sur les exécutions extrajudiciaires. » | Le Monde avec AFP | jeudi 28 juillet 2022

Honneurs et tractations pour la visite à Paris de Mohammed Ben Salman, le prince héritier saoudien : Emmanuel Macron devait précipiter son retour de Guinée-Bissau, jeudi, pour un dîner de travail. Plusieurs paramètres expliquent les honneurs que l’Elysée lui accorde. »

Affaire Khashoggi : plainte à Paris contre le prince héritier saoudien : Deux ONG ont profité de la présence de « MBS » sur le sol français pour saisir le tribunal de Paris, sur la base de la compétence universelle. »

Saturday, July 16, 2022

Biden in Saudi Arabia: Oil Trumps Justice for Khashoggi Murder | DW News

Jul 16, 2022 US President Joe Biden says he has confronted Saudi Arabia's crown prince over the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Biden is in the Kingdom on a highly-anticipated but controversial visit. When he arrived he bumped fists with Mohammed Bin Salman, the crown prince and de facto leader. Biden had refused to speak to him after Khashoggi was killed in a Saudi consulate in 20-18. US intelligence says the Crown Prince approved the killing.


Related.

Biden’s Fraught Saudi Visit Garners Scathing Criticism and Modest Accords

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In the most politically problematic trip of his presidency, Mr. Biden’s critics accused him of helping rehabilitate the reputation of a tarnished prince in exchange for numerous, but limited gains.


During a private meeting in Jeddah, the president said he was “straightforward and direct” with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi. | Doug Mills/The New York Times

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — President Biden exchanged the shaken fist for a fist bump on Friday as he abandoned his promise to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” and sat down with the crown prince he deemed responsible for the grisly killing and dismemberment of a columnist who lived in the United States.

In the most fraught foreign visit of his presidency to date, Mr. Biden’s encounter with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave the de facto Saudi leader a measure of the international rehabilitation he sought, while securing steps toward closer relations with Israel and an unannounced understanding that the kingdom would soon pump more oil to relieve high gas prices at home.

Mr. Biden’s discomfort was palpable as he avoided a handshake with the prince in favor of a fist bump that in the end proved no less problematic politically. While cameras recorded the opening of their subsequent meeting, the president made no mention of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist assassinated in 2018 by Saudi operatives, and the prince smiled silently when a reporter asked if he owed an apology to the family.

But Mr. Biden later told reporters Mr. Khashoggi’s murder was “outrageous” and said he had confronted the crown prince privately. “I raised it at the top of the meeting, making clear what I thought at the time and what I think of it now,” he said. “I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my view crystal clear.”

He reported that Prince Mohammed, often known by his initials M.B.S., had denied culpability. “He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it,” Mr. Biden said. “I indicated that I thought he was.”

Saudi officials contradicted his account. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, told reporters that he did not hear Mr. Biden tell the crown prince that he was responsible, describing instead a brief and less contentious exchange that focused on human rights without dwelling on the killing.

Mr. Jubeir called the Khashoggi murder “a terrible mistake,” but added that the two countries have moved on and he showed no interest in looking back. “People were put on trial,” he said, referring to underlings convicted in the case. “We have individuals who are paying the price.” » | Peter Baker and David E. Sanger | Friday, July 15, 2022


Verwandt.

Biden warnt Kronprinz bin Salman vor künftigen Gewaltakten

Der amerikanische Präsident Joe Biden und der saudische Kronprinz Muhammad Bin Salman am Freitagabend in Dschidda | Bild: AP

US-PRÄSIDENT IN SAUDI-ARABIEN

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Eine weitere Tat wie die Ermordung des Regierungskritikers Khashoggi im Jahr 2018 hätte eine „Antwort“ der USA zufolge, sagte Biden dem saudischen Kronprinzen. Dieser weist jegliche Verantwortung von sich.

US-Präsident Joe Biden hat nach eigenen Worten den saudi-arabischen Kronprinzen Mohammed bin Salman bei ihrem Treffen in Dschiddah vor künftigen Gewaltakten gegen Regierungskritiker gewarnt. Er habe dem Thronfolger deutlich gemacht, dass eine weitere Tat wie der Mord an dem Journalisten und Regierungskritiker Jamal Khashoggi im Jahr 2018 eine „Antwort“ der Vereinigten Staaten zur Folge hätte, sagte Biden am Freitagabend nach seinen Beratungen mit bin Salman in der saudi-arabischen Hafenstadt. Der Mord an Khashoggi habe „an der Spitze“ der Gesprächsthemen gestanden.

Kronprinz Mohammed bin Salman habe jedoch jede Verantwortung zurückgewiesen. „Er sagte im Grunde, dass er nicht persönlich dafür verantwortlich sei. Ich deutete an, dass ich glaube, er ist es“, sagte Biden am Freitag bei einem Besuch in Saudi-Arabien. Er habe das Thema direkt zu Beginn des Treffens mit der saudischen Führung „glasklar“ angesprochen. „Ich bereue nichts, was ich gesagt habe. Was mit Khashoggi passiert ist, war empörend“, so Biden. » | Quelle: dpa/AFP | Freitag, 15. Juli 2022

Friday, July 15, 2022

Fist Bumps as Joe Biden Arrives to Reset Ties with ‘Pariah’ Saudi Arabia

THE GUARDIAN: Oil markets top of the agenda for US president who receives subdued welcome three years after Jamal Khashoggi comments

Three years after Joe Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a pariah state over the assassination of a prominent dissident, the US president greeted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with a fist bump as his administration attempts to reset relations and stabilise global oil markets.

Whereas Donald Trump was personally welcomed to the conservative Gulf kingdom on his first presidential visit by King Salman, Biden was met on the tarmac on Friday evening by the governor of Mecca and the Saudi ambassador to the US in a subdued ceremony before travelling to the city’s al-Salam palace, where he held talks with the 86-year-old king and his powerful heir, Prince Mohammed, before a working meeting.

Oil, human rights, Iran, Israel and the war in Yemen are all on the agenda for what is likely to be a thorny 24-hour trip. Saudi Arabia has been a key strategic ally for the US for decades, both selling oil and buying weaponry, but when he was running for president, Biden vowed to turn the kingdom into a “global pariah” over the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. » | Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem | Friday, July 15, 2022