The Saudi Royal Palace, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets US President Joe Biden. Photo / AP
US President Joe Biden said he brought up the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, rejecting the idea he was ignoring the kingdom's human rights abuses as he tries to reset a critical diplomatic relationship.
"I said, very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am," Biden said. "I'll always stand up for our values."
US intelligence believes the crown prince likely approved the killing of Khashoggi, a US-based writer, four years ago.
Biden said Prince Mohammed claimed that he was "not personally responsible" for the death. "I indicated I thought he was," the president said he replied.
It was the first encounter between the two leaders, beginning with a fist bump outside the royal palace in Jeddah, in a relationship that could reshape security partnerships in the Middle East and the flow of oil worldwide.
For now, it appeared they were taking incremental steps forward together. Biden announced that US peacekeepers would leave the Red Sea island of Tiran by the end of the year.
Saudi Arabia hopes to develop tourist attractions there, part of the kingdom's effort to expand its economy beyond oil. Because of a complex diplomatic arrangement governing control of the strategically located island, America's departure required Israel's assent, and the deal was the latest reflection of warmer relations between the Israelis and Saudis.
The agreement followed an earlier announcement that the Saudis were ending strict limits on Israeli commercial flights over their territory.
Biden also said progress was being made on extending the ceasefire in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia had been battling Iran-backed militants, leading to a humanitarian crisis.
The president's three hours at the royal palace in Jeddah were seen as a diplomatic win for the crown prince, who has tried to rehabilitate his image, draw investments to the kingdom for his reform plans and bolster the kingdom's security relationship with the US.
Biden seemed to approach it as a necessary if somewhat distasteful step to improve relations with the world's top oil exporter at a time of rising gas prices and concern about Iran's nuclear ambitions.
The meeting drew outrage from critics who believed Biden was abandoning his pledges on human rights, particularly when it came to the murder of Khashoggi, a US-based journalist who wrote for The Washington Post.
"The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake — it was shameful," said a statement from Fred Ryan, the Post's publisher. "It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately seeking."
The United States played down expectations for any immediate increases in Saudi oil production, which could help alleviate high gas prices that are politically damaging to Biden back home. But the White House said it anticipated "further steps" over the coming weeks that "will help stabilise markets considerably."
The current Opec Plus agreement expires in September, opening the door to potentially higher production after that.
Rising gas prices, which were compounded by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, are one of the factors that prompted Biden to reassess his approach to Saudi Arabia.
The US president had long refused to speak to Prince Mohammed, the presumed heir to the throne currently held by his father, King Salman. But those concerns have been eclipsed by other challenges, including Iranian aggression in the Middle East and the faltering effort to use diplomacy to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia wants to strengthen its security relationship with the United States and secure investments to transform its economy into one less reliant on pumping oil.
The Saudis held a subdued welcome for Biden at the airport in Jeddah, with none of the ceremonies that accompanied his earlier stop this week in Israel.
The president later sat down with King Salman, the 86-year-old monarch who has suffered from poor health, including two hospitalisations this year. Journalists were not allowed into the room, but the Saudis released a video of Biden shaking hands with the king while the crown prince looked on.
Afterwards, Biden and Prince Mohammed held a broader meeting with several advisers. The two men sat across from each other, an arrangement that burnished the perception that they are counterparts. It's an image that the crown prince, known by his initials MBS, has been eager to foster as he solidifies his path to the throne after sidelining, detaining and seizing the assets of royal rivals and critics.
There had been considerable speculation about both the choreography and the substance of how Biden, who had vowed as a presidential candidate to treat Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" for its human rights record, would go about interacting with Prince Mohammed.
Access for journalists was limited. The White House travelling press corps were not present when Biden's fist bumped the crown prince, and reporters were only briefly allowed into their meeting. Almost none of their remarks could be heard. Biden did not answer when reporters asked if he still considered Saudi Arabia a pariah, nor did Prince Mohammed respond to a shouted question about whether he would apologise to Khashoggi's family.
"My views on Khashoggi have been absolutely, positively clear. And I have never been quiet about talking about human rights," Biden said earlier this week. "The reason I'm going to Saudi Arabia, though, is much broader. It's to promote US interests — promote US interests in a way that I think we have an opportunity to reassert what I think we made a mistake of walking away from our influence in the Middle East."
On Saturday, he'll participate in a gathering of leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — before returning to Washington. The leaders of Mideast neighbours Egypt, Iraq and Jordan are also to attend, and Biden's national security adviser said Biden would make a "major statement" on his vision for the Middle East.
The Saudi visit is one of the most delicate Biden has faced on the international stage. Any success in soothing relations could pay diplomatic dividends as the president seeks to ensure stability in the region.
But it could also open Biden, already floundering in the polls at home, to deeper criticism that he is backtracking on his pledges to put human rights at the centre of foreign policy.
"If we ever needed a visual reminder of the continuing grip oil-rich autocrats have on US foreign policy in the Middle East, we got it today," tweeted Adam Schiff. "One fist bump is worth a thousand words."
Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, said that, with the visit to Saudi Arabia, Biden was backing down on human rights.
She told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday, "It's heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency over principles and values."
Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former US State Department official, said Biden had looked forward to visiting Saudi Arabia "like I would look forward to a root canal operation".
Miller contrasted Biden with his predecessor, Donald Trump, who visited Saudi Arabia on his first foreign trip. That visit was highlighted by the leaders gathered around a glowing orb and Trump briefly joining a ceremonial sword dance.
With Biden and Prince Mohammed, "there aren't going to be a lot of sword dances or smiling photo ops or warm embraces", Miller said.
The site was used by Hezbollah to plan attacks on Israeli civilians.