Joe Biden first spoke to President Salman, Saudi Arabia, ahead of the publication of a US intelligence report that is expected to involve the Saudi crown prince in the 2018 assassination of dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
A White House report on the call did not mention the report, but said in another context that Biden “affirms the importance that the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law” and that the two discussed working on ‘mutual issues of concern’.
The Saudi embassy in Washington said the two men “confirmed the strength of bilateral ties and discussed Iran’s malicious activities in the region and ways to promote peace in Yemen”.
Biden was much cooler for Riyadh than Donald Trump, and cut off U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen and refused to speak directly to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a close ally of Trump, who according to U.S. intelligence killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi, after he was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The CIA gave the assessment to Congress in a classified information session in 2018 and must immediately deliver an unclassified version.
The White House has also strongly suggested that it prepare to take further action against those responsible for the killings. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Thursday that there were areas where the US would “express concern and leave open the option of accountability”.
It follows remarks by Jake Sullivan, national security adviser, in which he said the government would take additional action when the report is released, a remark seen by human rights campaigners as the door to new possible sanctions against Saudi financial institutions, and possibly the crown prince himself.
The call late Thursday followed two days of waiting in Washington, after the White House repeatedly said the two leaders would speak soon. When the calls could not materialize on Wednesday and Thursday morning, two sources following the case told the Guardian that the apparent delay reflected the White House’s difficulties in reaching the king directly. The White House declined to comment.
“Historically, MBS controlled his father’s switchboard,” said one person with good knowledge of the Saudi royal family.
The White House has made it clear that Biden sees the 85-year-old king as his counterpart, rather than the crown prince, who runs an increasingly oppressive regime in Riyadh. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Prince Mohammed in his role as Secretary of Defense.
The White House version of Thursday’s call to King Salman emphasized the positive aspects of the relationship, saying the president “will work to make the bilateral relationship as strong and transparent as possible”.
The two leaders discussed Yemen and the efforts to end the war there, stressing that the US would continue to provide military support “to help Saudi Arabia defend its territory as it faces attacks by Iranian-faced groups”. “.
The White House report said Biden had “positively” noted the release of political prisoner Loujain al-Hathloul and several Saudi-American activists, and “confirmed the importance of the United States in universal human rights and the rule of law”.