Hatice Cengiz, the fiancée of murdered Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, called President Biden's planned visit to Saudi Arabia "heartbreaking" and "disappointing."
Driving the news: Biden, who once vowed to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah," is set to meet with the crown prince on Friday, a move that Cengiz described as "a huge backing down" in an AP interview.
- "It’s heartbreaking and disappointing. And Biden will lose his moral authority by putting oil and expediency over principles and values," Cengiz said.
- Cengiz also said that Biden should urge Saudi Arabia, which she said is a "terrible ally," to embrace a human rights agenda, per the AP interview.
The big picture: Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia is set to include a bilateral meeting, focused on repairing relations, the U.S. need for an increase in Saudi oil production and on normalization steps between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Axios' Barak Ravid reports.
- Biden earlier this month tried to downplay the bilateral meeting after receiving criticism from some Democrats in Congress.
- U.S. intelligence released an unclassified report last year assessing that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) approved the operation to "capture or kill" Khashoggi in 2018.
What she's saying: "One of Biden’s promises [was] being different. It was a very big hope to me to believe, again, that Biden will do something for me and for Jamal," Cengiz said.
- "Instead of being different now, he’s doing the same and embracing dictators in the region right now. So it’s very disappointing for me."
What to watch: Biden on Thursday did not say whether he would mention Khashoggi’s murder when he meets with the prince, AP reports.
- "I always bring up human rights," Biden said during a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, per AP.
- "But my position on Khashoggi has been so clear. If anyone doesn’t understand it, in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, then they haven’t been around for a while."
- Biden said he hopes his trip will "reassert" U.S. influence in the Middle East.
Go deeper... Biden lands in Israel for first visit to the region as president
