Biden and the Saudi crown Prince begin a crucial meeting with a fist bump.
President Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman shared a fist bump on Friday the July 15, 2022, upon the president’s arrival in the Arab kingdom.
An image of the two was immediately posted on social media.
As a candidate, the president pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” globally, after the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Turkey. U.S. intelligence in January 2021 concluded the crown prince approved the operation “to capture or kill” Khashoggi. Mr. Biden also shook hands with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
He also met with the king in a closed-press gathering along with MBS.
U.S. officials had signaled the president wouldn’t be shaking hands during his Middle East trip, citing COVID.
But Mr. Biden began with fist bumps, then handshakes in Israel, undercutting the administration’s argument.
Ahead of Saudi Arabia’s stop, U.S. officials left it up to the president how he would greet leaders.
The president is meeting with the Saudi king and crown prince as part of a bilateral meeting, as well as other heads of state during the Gulf Coast Cooperation (GCC+3) meeting this week.
US officials emphasized that the Saudis while being an important player in the Middle East, are only one of the countries present.
