white House is dodging by the question whether the President Joe Biden Journalist to raise issue of murder of Jamal Khashoggi when he meets Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Saudi Arab next month.
When asked about this, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “We are not ignoring any material that happened before the president took office.”
‘It’s also important to emphasize that when we do support relationships, we don’t want to break relationships.’
He said that human rights will be part of the dialogue.
“Human rights issues, human rights talks are something that the president brings up with a lot of leaders and plans to do that,” he said.
The White House is dodging by questions about whether President Joe Biden will raise the issue of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder when he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Biden had previously called the Crown Prince a ‘pirah’ after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi (above)
White House deputy spokesman John Kirby also would not commit Biden to talk with MBS about Khashoggi’s murder.
‘I am not going to go beyond the personal discussions the President has had. He has held Saudi Arabia accountable for a number of measures when releasing and publishing that report from the intelligence community about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. He’s talked about it strongly,’ he said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
He also said Biden would discuss human rights.
‘Obviously human rights are something that we meet every now and then with partners and friends and people around the world. It is a major component of the President’s foreign policy. He believes that foreign policy should be rooted in our values. Obviously human rights will come up as part of that discussion,’ he said.
Earlier this month, the White House said Biden still thinks MBS was an “angel” for his role in the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey, which US intelligence says.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden referred to MBS as a ‘pariah’ after the assassination of Khashoggi.
A Washington Post journalist was assassinated in Turkey in 2018. The CIA has concluded with ‘high confidence’ that bin Salman ordered the murder.
Khashoggi’s murder at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul has tainted the crown prince’s image as a reformist.
Human rights advocates have also encouraged Biden not to travel without Saudi treating his citizens.
Biden will visit the state on July 15 and 16 to improve relations between the US and the world’s second-largest holder of petroleum reserves.
His visit will also include stops in Israel and the West Bank, the White House announced Tuesday.
The White House rejected the president’s meeting with MBS, saying the president would meet with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the Crown Prince would be part of it.
“Yes, we can expect the president to meet the Crown Prince as well,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia said in its statement on the visit that Biden and MBS would meet.
“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.
But White House deputy spokesman John Kirby said Biden would meet with King and that the meeting with MBS would be part of that.
“He is going to meet with King Salman and King Salman’s team bilaterally and the Crown Prince is part of that team. I doubt he will see the Crown Prince in the context of the meetings. He is grateful for Raja’s willingness to host GCC Plus Three. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, he said, “He looks forward to a wider range of discussions again.”
While in Saudi Arabia next month, President Biden will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom.
When asked about journalist Jamal Khashoggi and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “We are not ignoring any material that happened before the president took office.”
Travel as gas prices continue to rise in the United States, a key domestic issue Biden hopes to tackle going into November’s midterm election.
Over the weekend, the national average for a gallon of gas reached $5 for the first time in US history.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer, and as a major member of OPEC plays a large role in setting oil prices around the world.
The White House announced the visit this month after Saudi Arabia helped OPEC+ increase oil production by 648,000 barrels per day in July and August.
At the time, the White House made a statement thanking the state, a move that was seen as an attempt to thaw the icy ties between Washington DC and Riyadh.
Biden also praised the state for agreeing to extend a UN-mediated ceasefire in its seven-year war with Yemen. The President called the decision ‘courageous’.
The White House has insisted that King Salman is the ruler of the kingdom. Biden is said to see the king as his counterpart, not the prince.
Jean-Pierre said in a statement Tuesday morning that the President is visiting at the invitation of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.
He said Biden will discuss UN mediation in Yemen, economic security, addressing threats from Iran, advancing human rights and ensuring global energy and food security.