Trump’s Controversial Defense: Unpacking His Stance on Saudi Prince Amid Khashoggi Murder Allegations

“Many people had mixed feelings about the individual you’re mentioning, whether they liked him or not,” former President Trump remarked to reporters in the Oval Office, seated beside Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Certain events transpired, yet he [bin Salman] was unaware of them, and we should leave it at that,” Trump added.

Trump went on to commend the crown prince for an “incredible” performance on human rights, though he did not provide further details.

Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. U.S. intelligence agencies later determined that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had authorized the assassination.

Human rights organizations have heavily criticized bin Salman, not only for Khashoggi’s murder but also for his suppression of dissent within Saudi Arabia.

In a display of significant hospitality, Trump extended to the Saudi prince honors typically reserved for an official state visit to the White House, despite bin Salman not being a head of state.

Trump greeted bin Salman with a smile and a handshake on the red carpet, while military personnel lined the perimeter. Source: AAP / Nathan Howard

The warm welcome for bin Salman in Washington is the latest sign that relations have recovered from the deep strain caused by Khashoggi’s murder

Salman promised on Wednesday to increase his country’s US investment to US$1 trillion ($1.53 trillion), up from the US$600 billion ($920 billion) pledge he made when Trump visited Saudi Arabia in May. But he offered no details or timetable.

Talks between the two leaders looked set to advance security ties, civil nuclear cooperation, and multibillion-dollar business deals with the kingdom.

Trump told reporters that the two countries had reached a “defence agreement,” without providing details, and that Saudi Arabia would buy advanced US-made F-35 fighter jets.

Trump said he got a “positive response” about the prospects for Saudi Arabia normalising ties with Israel. But the crown prince made clear that while he wanted to join the Abraham Accords, he was sticking to his condition that Israel must provide a path to Palestinian statehood, which it has refused to do.

The meeting underscores a key relationship — between the world’s biggest economy and the top oil exporter — that Trump has made a high priority in his second term as the international uproar around the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, has gradually faded.

But the shadow of the journalist’s murder during Trump’s first term, which sparked global outrage and chilled relations between the US and Saudi Arabia for years, hung over the meeting.

Khashoggi’s widow, Hanan Elatr Khashoggi, told CNN that her husband’s killing had “destroyed my life”.

“I hope they look at the American values of human rights and [democracy]” besides any deal and selling weapons, she said.

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