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US President Joe Biden will travel to the Middle East and Saudi Arabia next week. There he will, among other things, meet the controversial Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In a debate article in the Washington Post, the president defends his trip.
“I know there are many who do not agree with me on the decision to go to Saudi Arabia,” the president wrote in the article.
Saudi Arabia is often criticized for lacking human rights.
“My view of human rights is clear and far-reaching, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as it will be on this journey,” Biden wrote.
Among other things, the president is expected to push for increased Saudi oil production, to overcome rampant fuel prices and inflation at home.
He will also meet the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – something that points to a shift from the strategy to freeze the Crown Prince.
It was Joe Biden’s government that published a US intelligence report in which the Crown Prince was singled out as responsible for the murder of regime-critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi consulate in Turkey in 2018.
After Saudi Arabia, Biden travels to Israel and the West Bank. The trip takes place July 13-16.