President Biden
Joe BidenBiden “disappointed” by Senate Senate decision, but “respects” Taylor Swift’s decision, which celebrates the passage of the House Equality Act He said on Friday that he would be accountable to Saudi Arabia after the government released a report revealing that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the assassination of US journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In an interview with Univision, Biden detailed a conversation he held Thursday with Saudi King Salman, in which he stressed that the U.S. would push Riyadh to honor human rights amid persistent criticism over the assassination of Khashoggi, a columnist for the United States. Washington Post who lived in Virginia. he was critical of the Saudi royal family.
“I spoke yesterday with the king, not with the prince. He made it clear that the rules are changing and we will announce significant changes today and Monday. We will hold them accountable for human rights abuses and make sure that, in fact, if they want to deal with us, they must do so in a way that treats human rights abuses. “, Said Biden.
“And we’re trying it all over the world,” he continued. “But especially here, this report has been assured there, the last administration would not even publish it. Immediately, when I came in, we presented the report, we read it, we got it and we published it today. And it’s scandalous what happened “.
Statements come as Capitol Hill bipartisan lawmakers call for a realignment of Washington’s close historical relationship with Riyadh. Frustration over Saudi Arabia has grown not only over the assassination of Khashoggi, but also over the Saudi-backed offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which observers say has worsened the country’s humanitarian crisis.
“I hope it is only a first step and that the administration plans to take concrete steps to make Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally responsible for his role in this heinous crime,” the senator said. Bob Menendez
Robert (Bob) MenendezSenate confirms Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations Note: Biden is committed to immigration (DN.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement that he was referring to the publication of the report.
In response to the report, the Biden administration on Friday released sanctions against people involved in Khashoggi’s assassination and imposed visa restrictions on 76 Saudis believed to be involved in the threat of dissidents abroad .
The White House, however, did not announce any specific punishment for Muhammad, the daily ruler of the kingdom.
Khashoggi was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was trying to obtain documents to obtain a marriage license. Turkish authorities have said they believe Khashoggi was strangled on arrival and later dismembered in an attempt to hide his body.