The news comes even as reports in October last year quoted White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying that Biden had “no plans” to meet with the Saudi Crown Prince…reports Asian Lite News
US President Joe Biden is considering meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of next month’s G20 summit in India’s New Delhi, Axios reported on Monday citing four sources.
A meeting between the two leaders could give a push to the talks the White House has been holding with the Saudi government for a deal which includes U.S. security guarantees for Riyadh, and a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Axios said.
The news comes even as reports in October last year quoted White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan saying that Biden had “no plans” to meet with the Saudi Crown Prince. Biden will act “methodically” in deciding how to respond to Saudi Arabia regarding the oil output cuts and options include changes to US security assistance, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan had said.
Speaking on CNN, Sullivan had said no changes to the US-Saudi relationship were imminent as Biden re-evaluates it. “The president isn’t going to act precipitously,” he said. “He is going to act methodically, strategically, and he’s going to take his time to consult with members of both parties and also to have an opportunity for Congress to return so that he can sit with them in person and work through the options.”
Relations between the US and Saudi Arabia are on thin ice over the oil production cuts. Saudi Arabia’s defence minister said he was “astonished” by accusations that the kingdom was “standing with Russia in its war with Ukraine”.
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