Kushner, Mohammed bin Salman meet in Kingdom

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, in their first in-person meeting since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the White House said Wednesday.

Kushner is part of a delegation currently on a seven-day tour of the Middle East that included Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook.

According to the White House, the two parties met with the crown prince and his father King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and discussed cooperation between Riyadh and Washington as well as efforts to create peace between Palestinians and Israelis and economic investment in the region.

Kushner's tour reportedly aims to brief U.S. regional allies about Trump's so-called "deal of the century" – a backchannel plan to reach a peace settlement between the Palestinians and Israel.

The delegation trip comes amid increasing uproar among lawmakers over the lack of response from the Trump administration over the killing of Khashoggi. Earlier this month, Trump declined to send a report to Congress regarding who was responsible for Khashoggi's murder.

Khashoggi was brutally murdered inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul shortly after he entered the diplomatic facility late last year. Riyadh initially denied any role in the killing but has since sought to blame his death on a botched rendition operation being carried out by rogue agents.

In November, the CIA concluded with high confidence Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi's killing, according to The Washington Post.

Trump and his administration, however, have shied away from placing any blame on the crown prince.