What happened on the call from Biden and King Salman? (All the details)

A call between President Biden and King Salman ahead of an expected report on Khashoggi’s assassination

The White House said US President Joe Biden spoke with Saudi King Salman on Thursday and informed him that he will work to make relations between the two countries “as strong and transparent as possible,” ahead of publication. predicted from a US intelligence report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The report is a declassified version of a top-secret CIA assessment that sources said claimed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman approved of Khashoggi’s assassination at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia denies that the 35-year-old crown prince and the country’s de facto ruler approved of the assassination.

The White House said that President Biden and King Salman addressed the issue of regional security and other issues, and that Biden informed the Saudi monarch that he would “work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible.”

“The two leaders emphasized the historic nature of the relationship,” the White House said in a statement. The statement did not refer to the report on the Khashoggi assassination, which is proof of the decades-long close ties between the two allies as they seek to counter Iran’s growing influence in the Middle East.

The Saudi Press Agency carried the news in a way that was overshadowed by positivity. He said that King Salman congratulated Biden on assuming the presidency, and that they emphasized “the depth of the relationship that unites the two countries and the importance of strengthening the alliance between them to serve their interests and achieve security and stability in the region. and the world.”

The statement, which also did not refer to the report on Khashoggi’s assassination, said the two leaders addressed “Iranian behavior in the region and its destabilizing activities,” as well as “the commitment of the United States of America to defend the kingdom against such threats “and Biden’s claim that” Iran will not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. “

A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that the release of the report was pending a phone call between the two leaders, adding that the publication was also postponed because of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the de facto ruler of the Kingdom, the Prince. Mohammed bin Salman, underwent surgery this week.

Khashoggi, who wrote articles for the Washington Post criticizing the Saudi crown prince, was based in the United States. The release of the report on his assassination is part of the Biden administration’s efforts to restore relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia, for various reasons, including the assassination. However, Biden has made it clear that he wants to maintain strong ties with one of Washington’s closest Arab allies.

“Our administration is focusing on restoring the relationship … and there are certainly areas where we will express our concern and leave open the option of accountability,” White House spokeswoman Jane Saki said at a press conference earlier. of the phone conversation. “There are also areas where we will continue to work with Saudi Arabia in light of the threats it faces in the region,” he added, apparently referring to Iran.

Khashoggi was lured to the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and was killed there by Saudi agents, dismembered, and no trace of them was found.

Saudi Arabia described Khashoggi’s assassination as an operation that went off course, but denied any role for the Saudi crown prince. Five were convicted of Khashoggi’s murder and sentenced to death in the 2019 trial, but their sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison after the Khashoggi family pardoned them. Three others were sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison.

The US State Department said Secretary Anthony Blinken discussed in a phone call Thursday with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, “the importance of Saudi Arabia’s progress in the field of human rights.” Ministry spokesman Ned Price said the two ministers also discussed “joint efforts to strengthen” Saudi defenses and cooperate to end the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition supports the government against the aligned Houthi movement. with Iran.