Biden to visit Saudi Arabia, country he vowed to treat as 'pariah'

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to visit Saudi Arabia this month as his administration tries to repair strained relations with a longtime U.S. ally and bring more oil onto the global market, five sources with knowledge of his plans said.

The president will visit Israel on the same trip, potentially setting him up to fly directly from Saudi Arabia to Israel - a symbolically important move as the Biden administration works to expand on the Trump administration’s progress in nurturing fledgling ties between Israel and Arab Gulf states.

During the stop in Saudi Arabia in late June, Biden is likely to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. officials and others familiar with his travel plans said.

The officials and others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not yet been announced. The White House declined to comment Thursday about whether Biden would visit Saudi Arabia.

Granting a presidential visit to Saudi Arabia would mark a significant reversal for Biden, who promised on the campaign trail to treat the kingdom as a “pariah” state after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist and critic of the crown prince, at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.