President Biden Alludes To Kashoggi Assassination, Prince MBS Says US Also Made Mistakes In Iraq

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said it had taken action to prevent a repeat of the murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi, but said the United States had also made mistakes, including in Iraq, when it met with President Joe Biden.

President Biden said Friday he told Prince MBS he held him responsible for the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, shortly after exchanging criticism with the kingdom's de facto ruler.

"The president raised this issue. And the crown prince replied that this was a painful episode for Saudi Arabia and it was a terrible mistake," said the kingdom's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

It is known that those accused were brought to justice and sentenced to prison terms, he said. Meanwhile, Uncle Sam's intelligence agencies believe the crown prince ordered Khashoggi's killing, which he denies.

On that occasion, MBS also briefly touched on events that took place in other countries, related to efforts to try to impose different values, saying it should be respected or it would backfire.

"It doesn't work when the US tries to impose values on Afghanistan and Iraq. In fact, it backfires. It doesn't work when people try to force values on other countries," Jubeir quoted Prince MBS as telling President Biden.

"Countries have different values and those values must be respected."

The exchange highlighted tensions weighing on relations between Washington and Riyadh, its closest Arab ally, over several issues, including Khashoggi, high oil prices and the Yemen war.

"His Majesty told the President, mistakes like this happen in other countries and we see mistakes like this made by the United States in Abu Ghraib (prison in Iraq)," Jubeir said.

In addition, Prince Mohammed also brought up the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh during the Israeli offensive in the West Bank. Later, Jubeir rejected accusations that Saudi Arabia had hundreds of political prisoners.

"That is absolutely not true. We have prisoners in Saudi Arabia who have committed crimes and were tried by our courts and found guilty," he said.

"The idea that they will be described as political prisoners is ridiculous," he added.

Washington has softened its stance on Saudi Arabia since Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, triggering one of the world's worst energy supply crises.