The President of the United States, Joe Biden, defended this Thursday (14) the decision to meet with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman, despite the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi – a crime that would have been committed by officials of the kingdom and authorized by MBS (as it is known), according to the US government itself.
The US head of state made the statements during a press conference granted together with the Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid. “My view of Khashoggi is absolutely clear and I have never been silent when it comes to talking about human rights,” Biden assured.
“The reason I go to Saudi Arabia is to promote the interests of the States. United in a way that I believe will reaffirm our influence in the Middle East.” Biden claimed that he does not want to leave a “void” in the region, which could be used for Russia or China to increase their influence.
This Thursday, in an interview published by the Associated Press, the fiancée of Khashoggi, Hatice Cengiz, said she was disappointed with the American president.
“One of Biden’s promises (was) to be different. It was a very high hope for me to believe, again, that Biden would do something for me and Jamal. Instead of being different now, he is doing the same as others and embracing the region’s dictators. So, it’s very disappointing for me”, he criticized.
In January of 2021, shortly after arriving at the White House, Biden authorized the publication of a CIA report, in that MBS is accused of having approved the operation that resulted in the death of Khashoggi, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
The murder of the journalist, a columnist for The Washington Post, occurred in 2018, provoked condemnation from the United States and Biden himself.
During the election campaign, in 2020, the now president promised that he would treat Saudi Arabia as an “outcast” on the international stage and who would make the kingdom’s leaders pay the price for Khashoggi’s death.
Biden is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia this Friday, where he will meet during the night with MBS and King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
“When I see the Saudi leaders tomorrow, I will take a direct message to them. A message of peace and extraordinary opportunities for a more stable and more integrated region”, he said.
On the table, there may be a rapprochement between the kingdom and Israel, in a scenario that the two countries do not currently have diplomatic relations. The American government acts as a mediator to achieve this approximation, in an attempt to face a common enemy, Iran.
