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Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via Reuters
President Biden was seen greeting Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday with a fist bump during his trip to the Middle East.
The greeting came amid speculation over whether Biden would shake the hand of bin Salman, who approved the 2018 operation that killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to U.S. intelligence assessments. Khashoggi, who was a Washington Post columnist, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to collect documents for his wedding.
While campaigning in 2019, Biden called Khashoggi’s death “flat-out murder” and called for consequences.
“There’s very little social redeeming value in the present government in Saudi Arabia,” Biden said in 2019 at a Democratic debate. “They have to be held accountable.”
In 2020, two years after the journalist was murdered, Biden released a statement calling for “accountability” and saying as president he would “reassess our relationship with the Kingdom.”