Biden to call Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday

If carried out as planned, the call will be Biden's first conversation as president with the Saudi king.

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 09:49

US President-elect Joe Biden gestures as he arrives for his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 20, 2021. (photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS) — US President-elect Joe Biden gestures as he arrives for his inauguration as the 46th President of the United States on the West Front of the US Capitol in Washington, US, January 20, 2021.

(photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)

US President Joe Biden intends to call Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday, ahead of the public release of an intelligence report about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Axios reported late on Tuesday, citing a source.

If carried out as planned, the call will be Biden's first conversation as president with the Saudi king, according to Axios.

Biden's administration has vowed to uncover the circumstances behind the 2018 murder of Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

In January, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haynes pledged to declassify the intelligence report on the murder and present it to Congress.

Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage and was never seen again.

Reuters and Dima Abumaria contributed to this report.