White House refuses to confirm reports about Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia
The White House defended President Joe Biden’s plans to visit Saudi Arabia and meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, despite US intelligence finding that bin Salman ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The White House refused to confirm reports that dealt with the visit’s plan, amid a wave of accusations that Biden had reneged on his previous pledge to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” country because of Khashoggi’s crime.
US officials considered that the expected visit will serve the interests of the United States, regardless of the Saudi crown prince’s involvement in the Khashoggi murder; Writer for the “Washington Post” in 2018.
White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said that “Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, when the time comes, will be in the context of important goals for the American people in the Middle East,” noting that a trip during June “is under consideration but has not been frozen.” “.
“If Biden decides that it is in the interests of the United States to engage with a foreign leader, and that such engagement can produce results. Then he will,” she added.
The US spokeswoman pointed out that “Saudi Arabia has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly 80 years, and there is no doubt that important interests overlap with the Kingdom.”
And US media reported, last Saturday, that the US president’s planned visit to Saudi Arabia and “Israel”, which is scheduled for this month, has been postponed to next July.
Reports circulated about Biden’s first visit as president to “Israel” and Saudi Arabia, during his scheduled tour to Germany and Spain, to attend the “Group of Seven” and NATO summits this month.
“The White House is now planning a broader trip to the Middle East next month,” NBC News quoted sources as saying.
Last Friday, the US President said that he is likely to go on a visit to the Middle East, noting that he has “no direct plans now to visit Saudi Arabia.”
