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Biden disputes Saudi FM’s account of meeting with MBS

July 18, 2022 at 12:30 pm

JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – JULY 16: (—-EDITORIAL USE ONLY – MANDATORY CREDIT – “ROYAL COURT OF SAUDI ARABIA / HANDOUT” – NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS – DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS—-) Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends Jeddah Security and Development Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on July 16, 2022. ( Royal Court of Saudi Arabia – Anadolu Agency )

US President Joe Biden on Saturday differed with Saudi Arabia in their account of discussions at a bilateral summit about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a major point of contention between the two countries, Reuters reported.

US intelligence agencies believe Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, known as MBS, ordered Khashoggi’s killing in 2018, a Saudi insider-turned-critic who had been living in self-imposed exile in Virginia. The de facto Saudi ruler denies the claim.

READ: US, Saudi agree on stopping Iran getting nuclear weapons in joint statement

In a press conference, Biden disputed the Saudi foreign minister’s account that he did not hear Biden blame MBS for the killing of the Washington Post columnist, a harsh critic of his native Saudi Arabia.