The White House announced that President Joe Biden would be visiting Saudi Arabia next month in a foreign policy trade-off, hitting the brakes on his campaign pledge to make the kingdom a “pariah” to combat the record-high gas prices in the United States.
Biden is scheduled to travel in mid-July, wherein he will stop at Israel and visit the Palestinian West Bank. In addition, the President is set to join a major gathering of regional leaders at the Saudi Port city, where he is expected to engage with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“The President looks forward to outlining his affirmative vision for US engagement in the region over the coming months and years,” said Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “The President appreciates King Salman’s leadership and his invitation. He looks forward to this important visit to Saudi Arabia, which has been a strategic partner of the United States for nearly eight decades.”
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The trip had been planned for months with US officials consulting their Saudi and Israeli counterparts. Initially, the President was set to visit this month, but with a scheduled visit to Europe for the G7 and NATO summits, the plan had to be pushed back.
The White House previously denied any plans for a trip.
“We’re now in a place where we feel this has come together in a very constructive way for everyone involved, and the President’s looking forward to it,” said a senior administration official.
During the trip, Biden will view the US-provided systems and meet athletes participating in an international Jewish sporting event. He will also discuss prospects for restarting peace talks with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the effort to reignite peace talks.
The President is also expected to meet Mohammed bin Salman in the engagement with Saudi leaders, but it remains unclear whether it will be a one-on-one meeting.
Officials said that while Biden’s trip was approved, there was some reluctance at the prospect of him going back on his promise to make Saudi Arabia pay for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. As a result, some of Biden’s allies have criticized the trip and the plans to meet Prince Mohammed.
Khashoggi’s fiance accused the President of losing his moral compass and said:
“President Biden’s decision to meet MBS is horribly upsetting to me and supporters of freedom and justice everywhere.”
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