Trump welcomes MBS to White House as Saudi crown prince seeks to strengthen ties

US President Donald Trump welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House on Tuesday, with the Saudi de facto ruler seeking to further rehabilitate his global image after the 2018 killing of US-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi and deepen ties with Washington.

Making his first White House visit in more than seven years, the crown prince was greeted with a lavish display of pomp and ceremony presided over by Trump on the South Lawn, complete with a military honor guard, a cannon salute and a flyover by US warplanes.

Talks between the two leaders are expected to advance security ties, civil nuclear cooperation and multibillion-dollar business deals with the kingdom. But there will likely be no major breakthrough on Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel, despite pressure from Trump for such a landmark move.

The meeting underscores a key relationship -- between the world’s biggest economy and the top oil exporter -- that Trump has made a high priority in his second term as the international uproar around the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic, has gradually faded.

US intelligence concluded that bin Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom's de facto ruler.

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The warm welcome for bin Salman in Washington is the latest sign that relations have recovered from the deep strain caused by Khashoggi's murder.

Trump greeted bin Salman with a smile and a handshake on the red carpet, while dozens of military personnel lined the perimeter. The limousine was escorted up the South Drive by a US Army mounted honor guard. The two leaders then looked skyward as fighter jets roared overhead, before Trump led his guest inside.

During a day of White House diplomacy, bin Salman will hold talks with Trump in the Oval Office, have lunch in the Cabinet Room and attend a formal black-tie dinner in the evening, giving it many of the trappings of a state visit. U.S. and Saudi flags festooned lamp posts in front of the White House.

Trump expects to build on a $600 billion Saudi investment pledge made during his visit to the kingdom in May, which will include the announcement of dozens of targeted projects, a senior US administration official said.

The US and Saudi Arabia were ready to strike deals on Tuesday for defense sales, enhanced cooperation on civil nuclear energy and a multibillion-dollar investment in US artificial intelligence infrastructure, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Trump told reporters on Monday, "We'll be selling" F-35s to Saudi, which has requested to buy 48 of the advanced aircraft.

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This would be the first US sale of the fighter jets to Saudi Arabia and mark a significant policy shift. The deal could alter the military balance in the Middle East and test Washington's definition of maintaining what the US has termed Israel's "qualitative military edge." Until now, Israel has been the only country in the Middle East to have the F-35.

Beyond military equipment, the Saudi leader is seeking new security guarantees. Most experts expect Trump to issue an executive order creating the kind of defense pact he recently gave to Qatar but still short of the congressionally ratified NATO-style treaty the Saudis initially sought.