Business as usual: US Treasury Secretary meets with Saudi Crown Prince amid Khashoggi outrage
As pressure mounts on US President Donald Trump to punish Riyadh over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Turkey, his Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday.
A photo of Mnuchin and bin Salman together was posted by the Saudi Foreign Ministry on Twitter. During their meeting in Riyadh, the Crown Prince stressed "the importance of Saudi-US strategic partnership, where it holds an important role in the future in line with the Kingdom's #Vision2030," the ministry stated.
#CrownPrince meets with the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and stresses the importance of Saudi-US strategic partnership, where it holds an important role in the future in line with the Kingdom’s #Vision2030pic.twitter.com/5LyloSOMTK
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) October 22, 2018
Saudi Vision 2030 is a long-term development plan, designed to reduce the Kingdom's dependence on oil revenues and diversify its fossil-fuel-driven economy.
The meeting, which had not been specifically announced as part of Mnuchin's six-country Middle East trip, comes as Trump refuses to halt $450 billion in arms sales to Riyadh despite facing pressure from both sides of the aisle at home. Mnuchin earlier joined a host of high-profile attendees who announced they were pulling out of an upcoming major investment conference hosted by the Saudis.
The calls for the president to scrap the lucrative deals have become more vocal since the Saudi government admitted on Saturday that the Washington Post columnist had died in the consulate. However, it is still unclear what led to the journalist's death, as Riyadh has been changing its own account of events.
Mnuchin, who earlier confirmed his visit to Riyadh as part of the Middle East tour, has neither issued any comment on his talks with bin Salman, nor released a photo of the meeting.
The Washington Post's correspondent Damian Paletta reported, citing Mnuchin's spokesman, that the two also touched upon the Khashoggi murder, of which there is no mention in the Saudi statement.
The news of Mnuchin meeting the Crown Prince in Riyadh has sparked a fresh wave of outrage among lawmakers and observers.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) called the meeting "a sad day for America" and a "seeming sell out."
"Are we now a pawn of Saudi propaganda?" he tweeted.
Sad day for America—a seeming sell out & business as usual in Mnuchin meeting with suspect Saudi Crown Prince. Apparent seal of approval before the facts are known about MBS’s complicity in Khashoggi murder. Are we now just a pawn in Saudi propaganda? https://t.co/aBiMdkGtOP
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) October 22, 2018
MBS wins another round against Trump, who just doesn't care if a country kills a US journalist: "Mnuchin meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite outcry over government’s role in journalist’s death" https://t.co/RAzytwNvv5
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) October 22, 2018
I'm old to remember when Republicans accused Hillary of being beholden to Goldman Sachs & the Saudis.Meet Steven Mnuchin, 17 year Goldman Sachs hedge fund manager cozying up with the Saudi prince after he ordered the murder of Khashoggi
— Alamo_on_the_rise (@AlamoOnTheRise) October 22, 2018
Thats how they talk;#JamalKhashoggipic.twitter.com/ZJFhZkW766
— Mehmet (@xMehmet) October 22, 2018
Meanwhile, US' European allies have urged a transparent investigation into the circumstances of the journalist's death, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that as long as the case is shrouded in secrecy, Germany will not export any arms to Saudi Arabia. So far, Trump has been reluctant to follow her lead, arguing that halting Saudi arms exports will hurt the US economy.
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