Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the near future.Bernd von Jutrczenka/Getty Images
  • Hatice Cengiz criticized Biden for his planned visit to Saudi Arabia.

  • Cengiz told CNN that he was upset by Biden's decision to meet the man.

  • The Ukraine war has changed Biden's stance on the US relationship with Saudi Arabia.

A face-to-face meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Laden is likely to be part of President Joe Biden's upcoming trip to Saudi Arabia.

Hatice Cengiz said that Biden would insult defenders of human rights by meeting with the Saudi leader.

Hatice Cengiz, a supporter of freedom and justice, said in a statement to CNN that President Biden's meeting with the Saudi prince is upsetting.

Biden's planned visit to Saudi Arabia has been questioned by foreign policy experts.

"A presidential trip to Saudi Arabia right now is going to be confirmation, validation not just that it's business as usual but that MBS got away with murder," said a former US diplomat who advised multiple secretaries of state.

"This is a bad deal for Biden, he's compromising on principles for modest returns, and it would be a serious mistake if he went to the kingdom," said Dassa Kaye.

There was a murder in October of last year. The Saudi journalist thought he would be able to marry Cengiz if he obtained a document that allowed him to do so. His killing by Saudi agents sparked outrage in Washington, and many congressional lawmakers called for the US to rethink its relationship with the kingdom.

Biden entered the White House with a plan to make Saudi Arabia a pariah in the world.

After Donald Trump ensured that the Saudi crown prince did not face consequences for the murder of journalist and Washington Post columnist, the Biden administration released a declassified intelligence report. The sanctions were imposed in concert with the release of the report, but they did not impose any penalties on MBS.

The US will no longer support the Saudi-led coalition in the Yemen war, and will only communicate with the Saudi king in an official capacity.

Critics, including Democrats in Congress, have accused Biden of falling short on issues like Yemen due to arms sales to the Saudis.

The Russia-Ukraine war has pushed Biden into a corner. Biden is looking for Riyadh's help in addressing the crisis with the elections around the corner. CNN reported that senior US officials have told the Saudi government that the Biden administration is ready to reset the relationship between Washington and Riyadh. Allowing shared interests to trump punishing is how that works.

"For the sake of achieving peace and stability in the Middle East, we need to move past it," a senior US official was quoted as saying by CNN.

Business Insider has an article on it.