{"id":1503745,"date":"2022-06-05T08:34:11","date_gmt":"2022-06-05T12:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1503745"},"modified":"2022-06-05T08:34:20","modified_gmt":"2022-06-05T12:34:20","slug":"biden-says-hes-got-no-direct-programs-for-saudi-arabia-visit-but-simply-leaves-doorway-open-for-future-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-says-hes-got-no-direct-programs-for-saudi-arabia-visit-but-simply-leaves-doorway-open-for-future-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Says HE&#8217;S GOT \u201dNo Direct Programs\u201d for Saudi Arabia Visit But Simply leaves Doorway Open for Future Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-says-hes-got-no-direct-programs-for-saudi-arabia-visit-but-simply-leaves-doorway-open-for-future-trip%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1503745&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-joe-biden\">Joe Biden<\/a> said Friday he has \u201cno direct plans\u201d to head to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-saudi-arabia\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> though he left open the door for a future trip, as rumors swirl around a possible visit to discuss global oil supply and mend strained Washington\u2013Riyadh relations.<\/p>\n<p>Biden made the remarks during a June 3 press conference in Delaware, where he was asked if he\u2019s going to go to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure whether I\u2019m going,\u201d Biden replied. \u201cI have no direct plans at the moment. We\u2019re looking at it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said that \u201cthere is a possibility that I would be going to meet with both the Israelis and some Arab countries,\u201d adding that he expects \u201cSaudi Arabia would be included in that if I did go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Biden was then asked by a reporter whether he still considers Saudi Arabia to be a \u201cpariah,\u201d which is how he described the Kingdom while on the presidential campaign trail, in context of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook, I\u2019m not going to change my view on human rights,\u201d Biden replied. \u201cBut as president of the United States, my job is to bring peace if I can \u2026 and that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to try to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, the CIA concluded that Saudi Arabia\u2019s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had personally ordered Khashoggi\u2019s killing, claims the crown prince has denied.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3491623\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/09\/08\/khashoggi-1200x833.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3491623\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2020\/09\/08\/khashoggi-1200x833.jpg\" alt=\"A picture of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi,\" width=\"640\" height=\"444\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> A picture of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi is displayed during a ceremony near the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, 2019. (Lefteris Pitarakis\/AP)<\/figure>\n<p>During the press conference in Delaware, a reporter asked Biden whether he\u2019d be open to meeting with the crown prince if he did end up going to Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook, we\u2019re getting way ahead of ourselves here. What I want to do is see to it that we diminish the likelihood that there\u2019s a continuation of this \u2026 some of the senseless wars between Israel and the Arab nations. And that\u2019s what I\u2019m focused on,\u201d Biden replied.<\/p>\n<p>The prospect of a Biden visit to Saudi Arabia has been rumored for some time, with Axios <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2022\/03\/06\/biden-saudi-trip-oil\">reporting in March<\/a> that some of the president\u2019s advisers were privately discussing a possible trip in the spring to help repair ties between Washington and Riyadh, and to persuade the Kingdom to pump more oil.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, a White House spokesperson downplayed the rumors, telling Axios that \u201ca lot of this is premature speculation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>More speculation about a Biden trip to Riyadh was fueled after the OPEC+ alliance of oil-producing countries\u2014an organization chaired by Saudi Arabia\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opec-agrees-to-boost-production-to-offset-russian-output-losses_4507862.html\">recently agreed<\/a> to boost oil production after months of prodding by the White House to pump more oil in a bid to quell soaring gasoline prices.<\/p>\n<p>Citing \u201csources familiar with the process,\u201d Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/biden-opens-door-possible-trip-saudi-arabia-2022-06-03\/\">reported that<\/a> Biden was planning a trip to Saudi Arabia in late June, with the visit to coincide with a trip to Europe and Israel.<\/p>\n<p>Later, citing anonymous senior officials in the Biden administration, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/white-house\/white-house-postpones-biden-trips-saudi-arabia-israel-rcna31951\">NBC reported<\/a> that the White House had postponed plans for a June trip and that Biden\u2019s visit to Saudi Arabia would likely take place in July.<\/p>\n<p>Those same officials, however, told NBC that the plans were in flux and subject to change.<\/p>\n<p>While the U.S. State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/sa.usembassy.gov\/our-relationship\/\">describes<\/a> U.S.-Saudi relations as \u201cstrong\u201d and \u201cclose,\u201d the Wall Street Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/how-u-s-saudi-relations-reached-the-breaking-point-11650383578\">reported that<\/a> ties between the two countries were at \u201cbreaking point,\u201d citing Biden\u2019s \u201cpariah\u201d remarks, Riyadh\u2019s unwillingness to bow to Washington requests to pump more oil, and the overhang of Khashoggi\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet described a supposedly tense exchange between the crown prince and Biden\u2019s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, in which Sullivan allegedly asked bin Salman about the journalist\u2019s slaying. The crown prince reportedly responded by shouting at Sullivan, demanding no more talk of Khashoggi and telling the adviser to forget any oil production boosts.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_3714072\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1169219013-1200x796-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-large wp-image-3714072\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1169219013-1200x796-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3714072\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/GettyImages-1169219013-1200x796-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"425\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Saudi Arabia\u2019s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sept. 18, 2019. (Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>After that article was published, a Saudi official rejected the Wall Street Journal\u2019s characterization of that meeting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/how-u-s-saudi-relations-reached-the-breaking-point-11650383578\">telling the outlet<\/a> that the discussion between Sullivan and the crown prince was respectful and cordial, while denying that relations between their respective nations were strained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOver the course of the last 77 years of Saudi-U.S. relations, there have been many disagreements and differing points of view over many issues, but that has never stopped the two countries from finding a way to work together,\u201d the official told the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n<p>The two countries have strong economic and security ties, with the United States being Saudi Arabia\u2019s second-largest trading partner.<\/p>\n<p>The State Department says that the Kingdom \u201cplays an important role in working toward a peaceful and prosperous future for the region and is a strong partner in security and counterterrorism efforts and in military, diplomatic, and financial cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-tom-ozimek\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tom-Ozimek.jpg\" alt=\"Tom Ozimek\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tom Ozimek has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education. The best writing advice he&#8217;s ever heard is from Roy Peter Clark: &#8216;Hit your target&#8217; and &#8216;leave the best for last.&#8217;\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden said Friday he has \u201cno direct plans\u201d to head to Saudi Arabia though he left open the door for a future trip, as rumors swirl around a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":489,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1503745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1503745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1503745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1503745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1503745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1503745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1503745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}