Jeddah, 15 July 2022 (dpa/MIA) — US President Joe Biden held talks with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, shortly after his arrival in the coastal city of Jeddah for a two-day visit. Biden has faced criticism for the trip, after his election campaign promise in 2019 to hold the leadership in Riyadh accountable for the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was critical of the Saudi government. In his first meeting with the crown prince since taking office last year, Biden gave Mohammed a fist bump upon arriving at al-Salam royal palace, before both men walked quickly into the building where Biden met with King Salman. Afterwards, Biden and the crown prince held closed-door meeting that was also attended by officials from both countries. Pictures and videos shared by Saudi media showed the two delegations sitting around an oval conference table. The crown prince, who is the kingdom's de-facto ruler, was pictured smiling while sitting next to several Saudi officials, including Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan. Khashoggi was killed by a hit squad in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. US intelligence agencies say Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) ordered the killing. At a debate in November 2019, Biden had promised to make Saudi Arabia a "pariah" if he became president. But now he is under enormous pressure back in the US because of rapidly surging fuel prices. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest oil producers. The visit to the conservative kingdom, where political rights and civil liberties remain highly restricted, has garnered criticism in the US. But Biden rejects accusations that his trip could subordinate human rights to demand for cheaper oil. He had vowed to bring up Saudi Arabia's human rights record in his talks with the crown prince. On Saturday, Biden will to take part in a summit with leaders of six Gulf countries as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. Biden flew directly from Israel to Jeddah. Earlier, Saudi Arabia announced plans to open its airspace to all airlines, in a gesture seen as a signal of rapprochement between the kingdom and Israel. The US president praised the Saudi leadership's move as a "historic decision." Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, with the Gulf kingdom not even recognising Israel as a state, one possible reason why the Saudi statement did not refer to Israel by name. Behind the scenes, however, the two sides have been working together on security issues for some time, as both are concerned by the growing influence of their common enemy Iran in the region. Saudi Arabia has actually been allowing the use of its airspace for flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain since its two Gulf neighbors established diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 under US mediation. In 2020, Saudi air traffic control even allowed an Israeli plane on its way to India to fly through its airspace to avoid bad weather, according to a report. The move will mean shorter flights from Asia to Israel, as airlines will no longer take long detours around Saudi Arabia. The White House on Thursday circulated a statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan saying: "President Biden welcomes and commends the historic decision by the leadership of Saudi Arabia to open Saudi airspace to all civilian carriers without discrimination, a decision that includes flights to and from Israel." Sullivan said the move paved the way for a "more integrated, stable and secure Middle East," which was essential "for Israel's security and well-being." Biden's visit is his first to the Middle East since taking office last year. Several Arab states have established diplomatic relations with Israel in the past few years as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, though despite its step towards rapprochement on Thursday, Saudi Arabia is currently considered unlikely to join them in doing so. Biden began his trip to the region in Israel on Wednesday.