Biden says he told Saudi king he will hold them accountable for rights abuses

U.S. President Joe Biden said he told Saudi King Salman he would “hold them accountable for human rights abuses” and the United States would be announcing significant changes in the bilateral relationship on Friday and Monday.

“I spoke yesterday with the king … Made it clear to him that the rules are changing and we’re going to be announcing significant changes today and on Monday. We are going to hold them accountable for human rights abuses,” Biden said in an interview with Univision.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, approved an operation to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to U.S. intelligence released on Friday. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said that the intelligence assessment on the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi speaks for itself, adding that the steps taken by Washington on Friday were important for recalibrating the U.S.-Saudi relationship.

Blinken did not address why the United States fell short of imposing sanctions on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who the report said approved an operation to kill Khashoggi in 2018, but said that a number of steps were taken on Friday to prevent similar conduct by the kingdom in future.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said it rejected completely “the negative, false and unacceptable” assessment of a U.S. intelligence report released on Friday that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler approved an operation to capture or kill the Washington Post columnist in 2018, the U.S. report said, as the United States sanctioned some of those involved but not the crown prince himself.

“The government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia completely rejects the …. assessment in the report pertaining to the Kingdom’s leadership, and notes that the report contained inaccurate information and conclusions,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.

“The crime was committed by a group of individuals that have transgressed all pertinent regulations… and the kingdom’s leadership took the necessary steps to ensure that such a tragedy never takes place again,” the foreign ministry statement added.

A Saudi Arabian court jailed eight people last year for between seven and 20 years over the murder of Khashoggi after his family forgave his killers and enabled death sentences to be set aside.

Khashoggi, a critic of the crown prince, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2018, where he had gone to obtain documents for his impending wedding. His body was dismembered and removed from the building and his remains have not been found.

The murder caused a global uproar and tarnished the reformist image of Prince Mohammed, and strained the relationship between the U.S. and its closest Arab ally.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirms that the partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America is a robust and enduring partnership,” the statement said.

Main Photo: US President Joe Biden responds to a question from the news media as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA. EPA-EFE/SHAWN THEW / POOL