Jeddah: In a hard hitting rebuttal, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reminded US President Joe Biden about America’s own record on Human Rights violation and its double standards on various issues.
Joe Biden met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, popularly known as MbS, on the side-lines of Jeddah Security and Development Summit (GCC+3) 2022 in the Port City Saturday.
According to a top Saudi official who was present in the meeting Biden raised the murder of Journalist Jamal Khashoggi during his interaction with the Saudi Crown Prince.
Mohammed bin Salman countered with the sexual and physical abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison by US military personnel, the killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in the occupied West Bank and drone attack in Kabul, Afghanistan in August 2021 -- incidents, he said, that reflected poorly on the US, according to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
"The Crown Prince responded to President Biden's remarks saying that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, while very unfortunate and abhorrent, is something that the Kingdom took very seriously (and) acted upon in a way commiserate with its position as a responsible country," bin Farhan said.
"These are issues, mistakes that happen in any country, including the US. The Crown Prince pointed out that the US has made its own mistakes and has taken the necessary action to hold those responsible accountable and address these mistakes just as the kingdom has", CNN quoted bin Farhan as saying.
"The Crown Prince pointed out to President Biden that the respect for human rights is a core value for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based on our Islamic beliefs and our Arab heritage. And that it's absolutely important that values be spread through dialogue," he said.
"Trying to impose your values on others is not going to be effective. It will get you a negative reaction. The right way to try and put your values forward is to show the world that you adhere first of all to those values, that you are respecting your own values", Mohammed bin Salman told Biden, according to bin Farhan.
"You cannot impose your values by force. The Crown Prince was quite clear with President Biden. The Crown Prince said we have our own values and those are not going to align 100% with US values ever because we are very, very proud of our own traditions, our own values, our own faith," bin Farhan added.
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