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Saudis say Biden’s threats are ‘election talk'

Although there are political tensions on human rights issues, the US-Saudi relationship could be vital for the United States to address Russian and Chinese influence in the Middle East region.
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President-elect Joe Biden pledged during his campaign to make Saudi Arabia’ leaders the "pariah that they are" and to demand accountability over the October 2018 murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, which, according to the CIA, was ordered by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also known by his acronym MBS. 

Still, many Saudis give little importance to such statements. “Even my father, who is in his late 70s, once told me this is 'election talk,'” said Eyad Alrefai, a Saudi doctoral candidate in politics and international relations at Lancaster University. 

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