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Post: Biden: With heavy luggage to the Middle East

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US President Biden will travel to the Middle East next week to meet with the Saudi royal family. It is accompanied by numerous criticisms and a number of difficult issues.


The street in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington recently had a new name: it is now called “Jamal Khashoggi Road”, and it was no accident that the US capital administration placed the new street sign directly in front of the diplomatic mission.

Biden meets with Crown Prince Bin Salman

Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in the fall of 2018. US secret services believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was behind the murder. The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia – also known by the acronym MbS – is one of the respected people Joe Biden will meet on his first visit to the Middle East as President of the United States.

Biden is expected to meet with Interim Prime Minister Jair Lapid in Israel on Wednesday. A meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is planned in the West Bank. Biden then flies to Saudi Arabia, where he plans to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Jeddah.

He will also meet with the “leadership team”, which includes King Salman and the crown prince, according to the White House. The Saudi Embassy in Washington announced “official talks” between MbS and Biden.

Biden’s visit criticized

Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz, who is a columnist for the Washington Post, has now turned to Biden in the same newspaper. “At a time when attacks on press freedom are at an all-time high, your visit will tarnish your reputation and send a message to autocrats around the world that they can imprison, torture and even assassinate journalists without revenge,” said the guest. Message.

There wasn’t much in the election campaign that Biden was reminded more often than this time before his trip: “We’re actually going to make them pay the price and turn them into foreigners,” he had promised as a candidate in November 2019. In connection with the murder of Khashoggi, meaning the Saudi leadership.

USA: Prioritize peace

Speaking to CNN ahead of his Middle East tour, a US government official, referring to the Saudis and the murder, said: “Both sides have come to the conclusion that in the interests of peace and stability in the Middle East, we must put this behind us.”

Biden has always portrayed himself as a staunch supporter of human rights. Before his trip, the US Democrat stressed that he would not change his mind on human rights. But:

My job as President of the United States is to make peace when I can. I will try exactly that.

US President Biden

The visit is not only about the many conflicts in the Middle East, but also about the energy crisis aggravated by the Ukraine war and a common enemy. A selection of highlights:








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Source: ZDF

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