President Biden spoke for the first time Thursday with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, following weeks of speculation that relations were headed for a deep freeze as Biden has criticized Saudi human rights abuses, canceled arms sales to the kingdom and scheduled the imminent release of a U.S. intelligence report implicating Salman’s son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
A White House statement after the call stepped carefully around the divisive issues, saying the two discussed “renewed diplomatic efforts” to end the war against Houthi rebels in Yemen, where thousands of civilians have died in Saudi air attacks using U.S.-supplied missiles.
Biden “noted positively” the recent release from imprisonment of a handful of political activists and Saudi American citizens, the statement said, “and affirmed the importance the United States places on universal human rights and the rule of law.” Continue reading.