US reports of Saudi Kashukji assassination soon released

Biden to speak with Saudi king after taking office

Jamal Kashqji [이미지출처=AP연합뉴스]

[아시아경제 김수환 기자] US intelligence officials will soon release a report on the assassination of Saudi Arabia’s anti-government journalist Jamal Kashqji. At the same time, U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak to the Saudi king within a month after taking office. As President Biden announced a reorganization of the Middle East strategy, including the adjustment of relations with Saudi Arabia, it is observed that the bilateral relations could face a turning point on the occasion of the release of the Saudi report and the normal currency.

According to major foreign media on the 24th (local time), the US authorities are expected to release a declassification report on the Kashukji assassination the next day. The report was prepared by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and it is reported that it is highly likely that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman ordered the assassination of Kashukji.

Earlier, Kashqji disappeared shortly after visiting the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey in October 2018, and U.S. intelligence officials later concluded that the Saudi government had killed Kashqji. The Saudi government has consistently denied allegations of assassination.

Foreign media reported that the release of the US report is part of President Biden’s adjustment of relations with Saudi Arabia and restructuring of the Middle East strategy. At the time of the former administration of Donald Trump, the U.S. government had refrained from criticizing the government’s assassination of Kashqji while pushing for strengthening cooperation with Saudi Arabia to check Iran. However, since last year’s presidential candidate, President Biden has criticized the Saudi government regarding the human rights issue surrounding the assassination of Kashqji, professing to “balance” the situation in the Middle East through readjustment of relations with Saudi Arabia.

In addition, on the 4th, it announced that it would cease military support to Saudi Arabia over the civil war in Yemen, and on the 16th, the U.S. State Department excluded the Yemeni Huti rebels, which are engaged in combat with the Saudi army, from the list of terrorist organizations.

Meanwhile, the White House said that President Biden Salman bin Abdulaziz Alsaud He said he would make a normal call with the Saudi king soon and that the schedule has not been confirmed. White House spokesman Jen Saki said, “President Biden’s critical view of Saudi human rights has not changed,” he said. “There is room for cooperation with each other to deal with the threat facing Saudi Arabia.”

Reporter Kim Soo-hwan [email protected]