Al-Jubeir Says 'Didn't Hear' Biden Saying Crown Prince Responsible For Khashoggi Murder

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th July, 2022) US President Joe Biden did not tell Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud that he believed the Crown Prince was responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir told Fox news.

"I didn't hear that particular phrase," Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News' Alex Hogan after Biden departed Saudi Arabia.

The details of al-Jubeir's interview with Hogan were first revealed by White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich via social media late on Saturday night.

"The President mentioned that the US is committed to human rights because since the founding fathers wrote the constitution and he also made the point that American presidents - this is part of the agenda of every American president," Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News.

On Friday, Biden told reporters that he raised the issue of Khashoggi at the meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince in Jeddah that day, claiming that Mohammed bin Salman was responsible for the murder.

"With respect to the murder of Khashoggi, I raised it at the top of the meeting, making it clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think about it now," Biden said, adding "He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it. I indicated that he was, and he said he was not personally responsible for it and he took action against those who were responsible."

Biden told reporters that he did not regret calling Saudi Arabia a "pariah state" for its alleged role in the killing of columnist Khashoggi.

During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden labeled Saudi Arabia a "pariah state" over what he said was the Crown Prince's purported role in the murder of Khashoggi.

Khashoggi is believed to have been murdered and dismembered by a Saudi hit squad inside the the country's consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The Saudi Crown Prince has denied ordering the murder.

A senior Saudi official told Al Arabiya after Biden's talks with the Crown Prince on Friday that Mohammed bin Salman mentioned US "mistakes" to Biden made at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and other incidents, such as the killing of veteran Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Commenting on the murder of Khashoggi, the Crown Prince told Biden that it was "regrettable" but said that Saudi Arabia had undertaken all the legal procedures in the Khashoggi case.

Prince Mohammed said that it is important that all countries deal with their mistakes and implement all the necessary procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.