Criticism over Khashoggi killing: MbS hits back at Biden
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Joe Biden that Saudi Arabia had acted to prevent a repeat of mistakes like the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and that the United States had also made mistakes, including in Iraq, a Saudi minister said.
Biden said on Friday he told Prince Mohammed he held him responsible for the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, shortly after exchanging a fist bump with the kingdom's de facto ruler.
"The President raised the issue... And the crown prince responded that this was a painful episode for Saudi Arabia and that it was a terrible mistake," the kingdom's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said.
Prince Mohammed also pointed out that "such an incident occurs anywhere in the world", highlighting "a number of mistakes" made by Washington such as torturing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, he added.
US intelligence agencies believe the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing, which he denies.
Jubeir, talking to Reuters about Friday's conversation between the two leaders, said the crown prince had made the case that trying to impose values by force on other countries could backfire.
"It has not worked when the US tried to impose values on Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, it backfired. It does not work when people try to impose values by force on other countries," Jubeir quoted the prince, known as MbS, as telling Biden.
Biden had promised to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" on the global stage over the 2018 murder of Khashoggi, but ultimately decided US interests dictated improving relations with the world's top oil exporter and Arab powerhouse.
Washington has softened its stance on Saudi Arabia since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, triggering one of the world's worst energy supply crises.
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