The promise of up to one trillion dollars in US investment worked: Donald Trump received with honors Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he was quick to exonerate for the brutal murder of dissident Jamal Khashoggi.
The murder of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 severely marked relations between the US and its traditional ally Saudi Arabia.
During the 2019 election campaign, Joe Biden threatened Riyadh that it would be turned into a “pariah” on the world stage due to human rights violations. Six years later, however, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Washington, where he was warmly welcomed by Donald Trump.
"It happened"
Trump flattered him. The American president described him as "incredible on human rights and everything else" and reacted sharply to a journalist's question about the Khashoggi case. "Some things happened, but he didn't know anything about them, and we can leave things alone", Trump said, after accusing the journalist of working for a media outlet that spreads "fake news". The murdered journalist was "extremely controversial", the president stressed.
Bin Salman described the journalist's murder as "a mistake". "We are doing everything we can to prevent something like this from happening again," the crown prince said.
Khashoggi had a long career as a critic of the Saudi authorities. He also worked as a columnist for the "Washington Post". The journalist was killed in the Saudi consulate in 2018 and his body was then dismembered. The dissident's body has never been found to this day, and US services have concluded that the murder was approved by Bin Salman.
Khashoggi's widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, described the meeting between Bin Salman and Trump as painful. "I hope that - in addition to all the deals and the arms sales - American values for human rights will also be taken into account," she told CNN. According to her, "true justice" has not been achieved so far for the murder of her wife.
Is Saudi Arabia more important to the US than Israel?
During the talks at the White House, Bin Salman showed readiness to improve his country's relations with Israel. At the same time, the Crown Prince insists on implementing the two-state solution, which would also ensure independence for Palestine. The Israeli government rejects such a scenario. “The New York Times" commented in this regard that this time Riyadh has also managed to deflect a commitment to join the Abraham Accords - the series of agreements that were signed in 2020 and aim to normalize relations between Israel and Arab countries. "We want to be part of the Abrams agreements, but we also want to make sure that we provide a path to a two-state solution," Bin Salman stressed.
During the meeting, Bin Salman also announced that his country plans to invest up to one trillion dollars in the United States. Trump, in turn, allowed the sale of new fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and described the country as "the most important partner outside of NATO."
The delivery of the most modern American fighter jets will mark a serious change in the Middle East, ARD writes. So far, the modern aircraft have only been delivered to the close US ally Israel, which is against providing such military equipment to Riyadh. The Israeli army has also used similar combat aircraft in its attacks on targets in Iran in recent months.
The US and Saudi Arabia have also signed an agreement on a partnership in the development of nuclear energy. Saudi Arabia wants to use American technology, but this is subject to strict rules. The US Congress is expected to examine such an agreement in detail. Saudi Arabia emphasizes that the country does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons, summarizes ARD.
Most observers agree that welcoming Mohammed bin Salman is a serious diplomatic and political success for him. But Trump's behavior is not surprising in an administration where relations are measured by gifts, not contracts, as noted by David Sanger of the “New York Times”.
“Forbes” recalls that the relationship between the US president and Riyadh dates back decades, and in the last few years alone he and his family have concluded at least 9 deals with Saudi investors. The deals concluded in 2019 are estimated at about $50 million.