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Thursday April 25, 2024

Biden says he will hold S Arabia accountable for HR abuses

By News Report
February 28, 2021

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has told Saudi Arabia's King Salman that he will "hold them accountable for human rights abuses". The president's warning came after a newly declassified intelligence report concluded that the kingdom's crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman, is likely to have approved an operation to kill or capture a US-based journalist inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Speaking to Univision News, Mr Biden confirmed that he had spoken to King Salman on Thursday, and had warned there will be "significant changes" in the country's relationship with the US. The report, contributed to mostly by the CIA, said the crown prince's "absolute control" of the kingdom's intelligence organisations would make it highly unlikely that such an operation could have been carried out without his authorisation.