US president hits back at senior Saudi official on Khashoggi murder issue

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) – The US president dismissed the Saudi minister’s recent remarks in which he claimed that he did not "hear" Joe Biden accuse Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during their meeting.

In response to a reporter's query after arriving at the White House about whether "the Saudi foreign minister (was) lying" or "telling the truth" during his remarks on Fox News, Joe Biden said "no."

Earlier, in an interview with the American channel, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir claimed he "didn't hear that particular phrase" when asked if Biden discussed Khashoggi's murder during his visit to Saudi Arabia.

"The (US) President mentioned that the US is committed to human rights because since the founding fathers wrote the constitution and he also made the point that American presidents -- this is part of the agenda of every American president," al-Jubeir said.

On Friday, Biden had told reporters: "With respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now. And it was exactly — I was straightforward and direct in discussing it."

In answer to a query on the crown prince's remarks about Khashoggi, Biden said: "He (MBS) said he was not personally responsible for it and he took action against those who were responsible."

On July 13-16, Biden visited Israel, the West Bank, and Saudi Arabia during his four-day trip to the Middle East. It involves engagements with nearly a dozen counterparts from across the region and beyond.

Biden has long been averse to meeting with Salman, whom the US intelligence believes ordered the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul in 2018.

Saudi Arabia initially denied responsibility for Khashoggi's killing, but eventually admitted it, attempting to frame his death as a botched rendition operation.

The president said in 2019 that he would make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state, in part because of Khashoggi's murder.