Biden says he confronted Saudi Prince over Kashoggi murder

After Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by the Saudi agents in the Istanbul consulate of Saudi Arabia in 2018, Biden had said he would make the country a pariah state in the world stage.

Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, posted a photo of the fist bump on Twitter and said Khashoggi would have written: "Is this the accountability you promised for my murder? The blood of the Prince’s next victims is on your hands."

What Jamal Khashoggi would tweet today: pic.twitter.com/Gv4Up7TLgd

— Hatice Cengiz خديجة (@mercan_resifi) July 15, 2022

"With respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think about it now," Biden told reporters.

"I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my view crystal clear. I said very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am."

In reply, the crown prince, denied involvement in the murder and said he had held those responsible to account, Biden said. 

"He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it," Biden said of the crown prince's response during their meeting. "I indicated that I thought he was."

The president said they also discussed energy and that he expected to see action from Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer, on energy in the coming weeks.