The United States plans to reset relations with Saudi Arabia, abandoning plans to isolate the country because of the involvement of its authorities in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
⠀
However, it is not specified whether this means the lifting of sanctions imposed in 2021 by Washington.
⠀
Biden decided to go for a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia because of the rise in oil prices as a result of the West’s imposition of anti-Russian restrictions. High oil prices lead to an increase in the cost of gasoline, and this accelerates inflation in the United States. The support of Saudi Arabia, including in the issue of increasing oil production by Arab countries, is necessary for the White House to maintain sanctions against Russia and curb inflation ahead of the midterm elections to Congress this fall. As a result, according to reports in the American press, Biden will visit Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks.
⠀
The current US president has previously promised to make Saudi Arabia a “rogue state”. As a result, relations between the two countries deteriorated, and Riyadh largely distanced itself from the anti-Russian campaign of Western countries launched after the start of a special military operation in Ukraine.
⠀
Khashoggi, known for his critical articles on the politics of Riyadh, has lived in the United States since 2017, where he contributed to The Washington Post. He disappeared on October 2, 2018 after visiting the Saudi Arabian Consulate General in Istanbul. On October 20 of the same year, the Saudi authorities reported that the journalist was killed in the building of the diplomatic mission as a result of the conflict.
⠀
In February 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States published a report on the assassination of Khashoggi. According to the American side, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud personally approved the operation because he saw the journalist as a threat. The US administration has announced visa sanctions against 76 of the kingdom’s subjects who are believed to have threatened dissidents abroad and were involved in the Khashoggi murder.
