The president of the United States, Joe Biden, has shaken his fist in greeting with the crown prince and de facto governor of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Bin Salmán, before their expected meeting.
Bin Salmán has gone to receive the vehicle in which Biden has traveled to the Al Salam Royal Palace from the King Abdulaziz international airport in Jeddah, both have bumped their fists and have walked together inside the building, according to Saudi state television Al Ejbariya.
The meeting between Bin Salmán and Biden has generated many expectations and White House journalists had been asking for days if the US president was going to shake hands with the crown prince, in what was perceived as a negative gesture after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi .
Biden has not wanted to advance whether he will mention the 2018 murder of Khashoggi during his meeting with Bin Salmán, whom US intelligence accuses of having approved the operation that ended his life in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where he had gone to do some formalities.
The president does intend to talk about the importance of respecting human rights and about oil production, said the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
Biden will first meet with Saudi monarch King Salman bin Abdelaziz and then meet Bin Salman.
The greeting had generated so much expectation that the White House announced at the beginning of the Middle East tour that Biden, 79, would not shake hands with other leaders out of precaution against covid-19.
In Israel, the first stop on the Middle East tour, Biden initially greeted the Israeli authorities with his fist, but then ended up shaking hands and even giving hugs.
