Biden traveling to Middle East, meeting with Saudi crown prince next month
CBSN
Washington — President Biden will travel to the Middle East next month for a three-day trip that includes stops in Israel, the West Bank and Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday.
During the trip from July 13 to July 16, Mr. Biden is set to meet with roughly a dozen Middle East leaders — including the Saudi de facto leader — during a visit that will likely be met with controversy given his role in the brutal murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and the kingdom's record on human rights.
A U.S. intelligence report released by the Biden administration in February 2021 concluded that the crown prince "approved an operation in Istanbul, Turkey, to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," who was critical of the regime. In 2019, Mr. Biden vowed to make Saudi Arabia a global "pariah," and when pressed Friday on whether he still views the kingdom that way, he told reporters, "I'm not going to change my view on human rights. But as president of the United States, my job is to bring peace if I can. And that's what I'm going to try to do."
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