US President Joe Biden speaks before signing an executive order to help protect women’s access to abortion and contraception after the Supreme Court last month overturned Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion, at the White House in Washington, US. July 8, 2022. REUTERS/ Kevin Lamarck
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WASHINGTON, July 9 (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Saturday defended his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia, saying human rights would be on his agenda as he previewed a trip he aims to restore ties with the crown prince, whom he had previously declared a pariah.
Biden will hold bilateral talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his leadership team, including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during his visit to the Middle East next week. https://reut.rs/3PiLiB4
Crown Prince Mohammed, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, is believed to be behind the 2018 assassination of Washington Post journalist and political opponent Jamal Khashoggi, according to the US intelligence community.
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In comments published in the Washington Post late Saturday, Biden said his goal was to reorient, not sever, relations with a country that has been a strategic partner of the United States for 80 years.
“I know there are many people who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia. My views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad,” Biden wrote.
Biden needs the help of oil-rich Saudi Arabia at a time of high gas prices and as he promotes efforts to end the war in Yemen after the Saudis recently extended a truce there. The United States also wants to limit Iran’s influence in the Middle East and China’s global influence.
Biden claimed that Saudi Arabia recently helped restore unity among the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, fully supported the Yemen ceasefire and worked to stabilize oil markets with other OPEC producers.
Biden said he would be the first president to fly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, next week, which he said would be a small symbol of “an emerging relationship and steps toward normalization” between Israel and the Arab world.
“I will be the first president to visit the Middle East since 9/11 without American troops participating in a combat mission there. My goal is to keep it that way,” Biden said.
The president will first stop in Israel on his July 13-16 trip.
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Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Robert Birsell
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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