Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will meet other Middle Eastern leaders before US President Joe Biden's visit.
Biden brazenly tagged the prince as a pariah over the slaying of a Saudi-born WaPo journalist in 2018. Now he is under intense scrutiny from a report if he will be snubbed by bin Salman who did not respond to his calls to increase oil production.
Will MBS Ignore Biden Again?
Kicking off his tour last Monday, Mohammed bin Salman is going to Egypt first to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi about the effect of the US proxy war in Ukraine, cited the Saudi Gazette.
Included preparations for the US state visit next month is the US president's itinerary, including going to Israel, the West Bank, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Individually, Saudi officials, quoted by an outlet, said the prince would meet with al-Sisi, then on Tuesday, with Jordan's King Abdullah in Amman, reported Sputnik News.
Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed a meeting with the Saudi Prince in Ankara on Wednesday.
Before Joe Biden's trip, Saudi officials have not released comments about the crown price tour to visit Middle Eastern leaders in the region. On his list of states to visit are Greece, Cyprus, and Algeria, most likely in the latter part of July.
MBS' First Visit to Ankara Since the Khashoggi Slaying
This is the first visit of the Saudi Crown Prince to Turkey after the slaying and dismemberment of Saudi-born journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly done in the Saudi Consulate of Istanbul in October 2018, noted Middle East Eye.
Turkish officials and US intelligence pointed the blame at Prince bin Salman, who started a row between Riyadh and Ankara, with disagreements causing a chill in relations. It was Erdogan who never accused the Saudi crown prince.
Later he took the blame for the death of the US journalist because it was his fault under his watch, which was later revealed to be a rogue plan that saw 7 to 8 people imprisoned for murders. Five officials connected to the murder were pardoned or given the death sentence.
President Biden in 2019 promised to make Saudi Arabia pay and called them pariahs, leading to the Saudi Prince's dismissive gestures toward the US leader.
The US leader is facing blowback from media asking what he'll do if the meeting with bin Salman happens next month.
In a White House presser last Friday, he said there would be no meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, but he'll be there with other people.
It seems the president avoided anything related to the meeting with the prince. Later the Saudi Embassy told Washington and the White House press secretary, Karine-Jean Pierre, that Biden's KSA visit would include a one-on-one meeting with MBS.
The US leader will arrive on July 15, scheduled for a two-day visit with participation in the Cooperation Council+3 summit of Arab Gulf states, including Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq.
Washington wanted to mediate a deal between KSA and Egypt about several islands in the Tiran Strait for fixing Saudi-Israeli relations. Riyadh will talk to Tel Aviv if the Palestine issue is resolved.
