President Biden will travel to Saudi Arabia as part of a Middle East trip in mid-July, the White House said Tuesday after days of speculation about whether the U.S. leader would head to the kingdom after a stop in Israel.
Mr. Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in a statement that the president will discuss a “range of bilateral, regional and global issues” with the Saudis as part of a meeting in Jeddah with nine regional leaders.
The statement said “advancing human rights” would be on the docket but not journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in 2018 at a Saudi consulate in Turkey after being sharply critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.