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Biden says no plans to meet with Saudi crown prince during Kingdom visit
U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation Tuesday afternoon to make lynching a federal hate crime for the first time in American history (File photo: Kamala Harris official Facebook page)

The Anadolu Agency reported that US President Joe Biden said on Friday (June 17) he has no plans to sit down with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader as he prepares to visit the Kingdom next month.

Asked if he would meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Biden said, "I’m not going to meet with" him.

Biden told reporters before departing the White House for his home state of Delaware: "I’m going to an international meeting. And he’s going to be a part of it, just like there were people part of the discussion today."

According to the Anadolu Agency, Biden is slated to visit the Kingdom in mid-July, and participate in a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the city of Jeddah alongside nine regional leaders.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan/Facebook page

Biden has long opposed sitting down with bin Salman, whom US intelligence determined ordered the grisly 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Joe Biden to visit Saudi Arabia at the invitation of King Salman

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

It should be noted that the US president said in 2019 that he would make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" state, in part because of Khashoggi's murder.

Source: aa