President Joe Biden will seek to mend ties with Saudi Arabia and its de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, during a trip there next month that marks a reversal of Biden’s pledge to make the kingdom a “pariah” over its human-rights record.
Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia will cap four days of travel in the region that also includes stops in Israel and the West Bank, where he’ll meet Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Saudi stop, however, is poised to emerge as the headline event as Biden looks to coax an increase in oil production, ease record-high gasoline prices and beat back criticism that he’s softening his objections to the kingdom’s human-rights record, including the slaying of Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post columnist.
Biden’s willingness to travel to the kingdom shows the extent to which his efforts to lower gasoline prices and further isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine have overridden his desire to take a harder line against Riyadh.
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