President Biden will leave Saudi Arabia without a deal to increase oil supply, despite a hard push to get the oil-rich country to pump more crude amid record high gas prices.
Speaking to reporters Friday after his meeting with Saudi King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the nation’s de facto ruler, Mr. Biden admitted that little progress had been made to strike an oil deal.
“I’m doing all I can to increase the supply for the United States of America, which I expect to happen,” Mr. Biden said Friday. “The Saudis share that urgency and based on our discussions today, I expect we’ll see further steps in the coming weeks.”
Mr. Biden said he raised the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the beginning of his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammad, who U.S. intelligence officials say orchestrated his death.
“I said, very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am,” Mr. Biden said. “I’ll always stand up for our values.”
The president also said that the crown prince denied any personal responsibility for the death of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was an outspoken critic of the Saudi government. Crown Prince Mohammad said he took action against those responsible for Khashoogi’s death.
