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A fist salute between Joe Biden and Mohammed bin Salman: Corona rules or is there more to it?
Photo: Uncredited / dpa
US President Joe Biden has arrived in Saudi Arabia for his controversial visit.
After all, Biden is meeting there with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
And while Biden's reception was cool compared to that of his predecessor, Donald Trump, a snap of the clash caused some excitement.
Upon his arrival at the royal palace in the coastal city of Jeddah, he and the Crown Prince greeted each other with a fist bump.
The trip – and the fist salute – is a big topic in the US media.
The visit to Saudi Arabia is partly interpreted as Biden's broken promise from the election campaign to make the Saudi leadership an "outsider", the fist salute as a forgiving gesture.
Hands were shaken in Israel
Thanks to the corona pandemic, Biden was able to avoid a handshake with “MBS”.
"We're trying to minimize contact as much as possible," Biden's spokeswoman said with a view to Corona during the trip to Israel.
There, Biden sometimes greeted his hosts with an outstretched fist, but also shook hands – such as those of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden had previously been received at Jeddah's airport by Khalid al-Faisal, Governor of Mecca, and Rima bint Bandar, Ambassador to the United States - in view of their rank, a clear rebuff for the US President.
The arrival also contrasted sharply with Biden's arrival in Israel, where President Izchak Herzog and Prime Minister Jair Lapid had earlier welcomed him with a ceremony.
Obama was also received coolly in Saudi Arabia – unlike Trump
The cool reception is reminiscent of a visit by ex-US President Barack Obama, who was received in Riyadh in 2016 by the local governor Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud.
Obama's arrival was also not broadcast on Saudi state television, as is usual when heads of state and government visit the kingdom.
Shortly before, King Salman could be seen, who instead greeted other high-ranking representatives of neighboring countries from the region on the runway.
Donald Trump, who as US President enjoyed particularly good relations with the rulers of the kingdom, was warmly welcomed during a visit to Riyadh in 2017.
King Salman welcomed Trump at the airport, and Trump later performed a saber dance and bowed deeply to the ruler.
The visit produced images of warm and generous gestures.
Dissenters from the Saudi regime at home, on the other hand, are persecuted with the utmost severity.
A group of 13 human rights organizations said they were being arbitrarily arrested, tortured or executed.
In March, the kingdom executed 81 people in a single day.
In Yemen, Saudi Arabia and allies are bombing Houthi rebel positions in a civil war that has killed more than 150,000 people and had devastating humanitarian consequences.
Riyadh has long been one of the largest buyers of US armaments.
It is almost four years since the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who works in the USA, which the crown prince personally approved of, according to the US secret services.
Biden defended himself against criticism before and during the trip.
“I always bring up human rights.
But my position on Khashoggi was so clear.
If someone doesn't understand that, whether it's in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else, they haven't been listening," Biden said.
In March, Salman warned in an interview with The Atlantic magazine that the United States should not interfere in the internal affairs of the absolute monarchy.
“We don't have the right to lecture you in America.
The same applies vice versa.« It is up to Biden to think about the interests of the USA.
jso/dpa