Will it be a handshake this time?
Biden mulls meeting Saudi Crown Prince at G20
Axios reports that a meeting between the US President and Prince Mohammed bin Salman could give a push to the talks the White House has been holding with the Saudi government for a deal which includes US security guarantees for Riyadh, and a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Monday 21/08/2023
Will it be a handshake this time?
WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden is considering meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of next month's G20 summit in India's New Delhi, Axios reported on Monday citing four sources.
A meeting between the two leaders could give a push to the talks the White House has been holding with the Saudi government for a deal which includes US security guarantees for Riyadh, and a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Axios said.
US-Saudi relations have deteriorated since the 2018 murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident, inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
They worsened after the Biden administration took office in early 2021 and released a US intelligence assessment that MbS approved Khashoggi's killing, which the crown prince denied.
Riyadh has also leveraged its growing relationships with Russia and China as the Biden administration has pushed back against some Saudi demands including lifting restrictions on arms sales and help with sensitive high-tech industries.
Saudi Arabia, a Middle East powerhouse and home to Islam's two holiest shrines, has resisted heavy US pressure to end generations-old non-recognition of Israel as have Gulf Arab neighbours the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
Riyadh says Palestinian statehood goals should be addressed first before normalisation with Israel. Saudi Arabia went the other way in April in restoring ties with Iran, its key regional rival and Israel's arch-enemy, in a Chinese-brokered deal.