King Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, very close to Donald Trump, “
congratulated
” Joe Biden and Kamala Harris this Sunday evening elected president and vice-president of the United States the day before, announced the official SPA press agency.
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The last person in charge of the Arab Gulf monarchies to react, King Salman expressed “
his best wishes for success
” and recalled “
the special close historical relations between the two friendly countries and peoples
”, according to SPA.
Prince Mohammed wished "
even more progress
" to the United States, saying "
aspire to continue joint cooperation between the two friendly countries
".
The crown prince and
de facto
ruler
of
the kingdom maintains a close relationship with the defeated American president, Donald Trump and the latter's son-in-law and adviser, Jared Jushner, in particular because of their common hostility towards Iran.
After tense relations with Democrat Barack Obama, Ryad had found unwavering support from the Trump administration, including during the global outcry sparked by the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. A UN expert and the CIA had concluded that Prince Mohammed was involved in the assassination of this journalist contributing to the
Washington Post
, a former close to the Saudi regime before becoming critical of it.
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Former vice-president of Barack Obama, Joe Biden had promised during his campaign that he would "
re-evaluate
" relations with Saudi Arabia and "
ensure that America does not renounce its values to sell weapons or buy fuel. petroleum
”.
Leader of the Gulf oil monarchies and regional rival of Iran, Saudi Arabia had so far not reacted to the victory of Joe Biden, while all other Gulf leaders had already done so.