The US President Joe Biden’s administration has defended its decision not to apply sanctions on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) for the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“We are working to put the US Saudi relationship on the right footing,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news conference in Washington on Monday, defending the Biden administration’s decision not to sanction the crown prince, who is the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
The Biden administration is seeking to “recalibrate”, not “rupture” the US-Saudi relationship, Price said.
Had the Biden administration done “something more dramatic and something more drastic” by naming MBS for sanctions, it would “greatly diminish” US influence in Riyadh, Price said.
Khashoggi murder: Three Saudi names disappear from revised US intelligence report middleeasteye.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from middleeasteye.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The U.S. intelligence community has replaced its long-awaited report on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, with another version that no longer includes the names of three men initially considered as complicit.
Jamal Khashoggi: Three names removed from intelligence report after initial publication msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Poor Khashoggi! Even The CIA May Have Got Some of The Facts Wrong albawaba.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from albawaba.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.