“My views on Khashoggi have been made absolutely, positively clear and I have never been quiet about asking about human rights,” Biden said Thursday when asked whether he would bring up Khashoggi during his meeting with Saudi leadership that is expected to take place Friday.
While oil production is not expected to be the main topic of the meeting, US officials do expect the topic to arise — there is hope that the Kingdom will commit to increasing production in the weeks following the meeting. Biden said Thursday that the reason he is going to Saudi Arabia is “much broader” than just oil and that he is traveling there to promote US interests.
He noted that he’ll be meeting with many leaders of the Middle East and attending a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council plus three — Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.
Biden said he has an opportunity to fix the “mistake” of “walking away from our influence in the Middle East,” another reference to the Trump administration.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
