President biden
Joe BidenBiden ‘disappointed’ by the Senate parliamentary decision, but ‘respects’ the decision Taylor Swift celebrates the passage of the Equality Act in the House Donald Trump Jr. calls Bruce Springsteen’s dropped charges a ‘liberal privilege’ MORE said on Friday it would hold Saudi Arabia accountable after the government released a report revealing that Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In an interview with Univision, Biden detailed a conversation he had on Thursday with Saudi King Salman, in which he emphasized that the United States would pressure Riyadh to honor human rights amid persistent criticism of the assassination of Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post who lived in Virginia and criticized the Saudi royal family.
“I spoke to the king yesterday, not the prince. He made it clear to him that the rules are changing and that we are going to announce significant changes today and Monday. We will hold them accountable for human rights abuses and we will make sure that, in fact, if they want to deal with us, they have to deal with it in a way that human rights abuses are dealt with, ”said Biden.
“And we are trying to do this all over the world,” he continued. “But, particularly here, this report is standing there, the last government has not even released it. We immediately, when I joined, filled out the report, read it, received it and launched it today. And what has happened is outrageous. “
The comments come at a time when bipartisan legislators at the Capitol call for a realignment of Washington’s historically close relationship with Riyadh. Frustration with Saudi Arabia has grown not only with Khashoggi’s death, but also with the Saudi-backed offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen, which observers said has worsened the country’s humanitarian crisis.
“I am hopeful that it is just a first step and that the government plans to take concrete measures by holding Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally responsible for his role in this heinous crime,” said the senator. Bob Menendez
Robert (Bob) MenendezSenate confirms Thomas-Greenfield as UN ambassador The Memorandum: Biden bets heavily on immigration Biden expands paths to citizenship as the immigration bill reaches Congress MORE (DN.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Commission, said in a note, referring to the report’s release.
In response to the report, the Biden government on Friday launched sanctions against those involved in Khashoggi’s death and imposed visa restrictions on 76 Saudis believed to be involved in threats to dissidents abroad.
The White House, however, has not announced any specific punishment for Muhammad, the kingdom’s daily ruler.
Khashoggi was killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he was trying to obtain documents for a marriage license. Turkish authorities said they believed Khashoggi was strangled on arrival and later quartered in an attempt to hide his body.