Biden disputes Saudi on Khashoggi talk

Mohammed bin Salman greets Biden, in Jeddah on July 15. Pic/AP

US President Joe Biden has differed with Saudi Arabia in their account of discussions at a bilateral summit about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a major point of contention between the two countries. US intelligence agencies believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing in 2018 of Khashoggi, a Saudi-U.S. citizen, which the de facto Saudi ruler denies.

Answering reporters as he arrived at the White House from his first Middle East trip as president, Biden disputed the Saudi foreign minister's account that he did not hear Biden blame Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of the Washington Post columnist, a harsh critic of Saudi Arabia.

Asked whether the minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, was telling the truth in recounting the exchange between Biden and the crown prince, the president said "No". Jubeir said the crown prince, known as MbS, had told Biden the kingdom had acted to prevent a repeat of mistakes like Khashoggi's killing and that the United States had also made mistakes. The minister told Fox News on Saturday that he "didn't hear that particular phrase" from Biden blaming the crown prince.

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