Biden to hold talks with Saudi leaders in Jeddah

After denouncing Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman two years ago as a “pariah” over the Kashoggi killing, President Joe Biden will meet him on Friday at his Jeddah palace, having decided to prioritize energy and security interests. Biden is the first US president to fly directly from Israel to an Arab state that doesn’t recognize Israel, after the oil kingdom made the gesture of opening its skies to Israeli carriers during the president’s three-day Israel visit.  Saudi ambassador to Washington Remma bint Bandar Al Saud said that the kingdom’s “abhorrence” of the killing cannot define US-Saudi ties. She also dismissed the “oil-for-security paradigm” as “outdated and reductionist.”