Mnuchin to Travel to Saudi Arabia to Reinforce Ties, Despite Uproar Over Khashoggi Killing
JERUSALEM — Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said on Sunday in Jerusalem that he would travel to the Saudi Arabian capital this week despite the international uproar over the killing of a dissident journalist, in an effort to reinforce ties at a time when the United States is seeking to ratchet up pressure on Iran.
He defended the decision to visit his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, saying that the economic and strategic relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia was too important to be cast aside.
The trip to Riyadh comes as Saudi Arabia is facing intense global backlash over the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi columnist for The Washington Post who lived in Virginia. The Trump administration is under pressure to deliver a forceful response, but President Trump has been slow to acknowledge intelligence showing that Mr. Khashoggi was brutally murdered.
Mr. Trump has been criticized as putting his country’s economic relationship with Saudi Arabia ahead of human rights, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress have urged him to give an assertive response to Saudi Arabia.
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