Saudis Congratulate Biden – 24 Hours after Election Call

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has offered felicitations to US President-elect Joe Biden. According to the official Saudi Press Agency, the king “expressed his sincere congratulations and best wishes of success to Mr. Biden and, to the friendly people of the United States of America, steady progress and prosperity. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques praised the historical, deep-rooted relations between the two friendly countries, adding that both countries are keen to develop and enhance these relations in all fields.” The king’s salutations came 24 hours after the major US news outlets called the election following nail-biting vote counts in several swing states; that is 12 hours longer than Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu waited, a move noted by media around the world. President Donald Trump, who says he will contest his election loss in the courts, is seen as a close ally of both Israel and Saudi Arabia. Regarding the latter, he has downplayed human rights issues in the desert kingdom, as well as the brutal and highly publicized killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018. President-elect Biden has said he plans to rethink the cozy US ties with Riyadh in light of some of the latter’s behavior, including a proxy war it has been leading against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, which is suffering from severe humanitarian exigencies due to the fighting.