WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2021) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed with his Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud over the telephone Riyadh's human rights record,� State Department's spokesman Ned price said.
Their phone call came ahead of planned talks between US President Joe Biden and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which is expected to precede the release in the United States of a previously classified intelligence report on the murder Saudi-American dissident columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
"Secretary Blinken and the Foreign Minister discussed the importance of Saudi progress on human rights, including through legal and judicial reforms, and our joint efforts to bolster Saudi defenses," Price said in a statement on Thursday.
Blinken also reiterated his commitment to US-Saudi cooperation on ending the war in Yemen, regional security coordination, counterterrorism, and economic development, Price added.
The intelligence report is expected to shed more light on alleged role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and may cause tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia.
Khashoggi went missing in 2018 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government initially denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts, but eventually admitted that he was killed and dismembered inside the diplomatic mission.
The Saudi government sentenced several people over their role in Khashoggi's murder and has repeatedly denied allegations that members of the royal family were involved in the incident.
