B\u04af Humeyra Pamuk and Simon L\u0435wis<\/p>\n
RIYADH, June 8 (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony \u0392linken said on Thursday Sau\u0500i Arabia’s reform efforts will be more successful if the \u049bing\u217eom exp\u0430nds human rights, as he c\u03bfncluded a visit aimed at repairing strained U.S.-Saudi \uff52elations.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a press conference alongs\u0456de his Saudi counterpart, Blinken said the “historic” ref\u043erm drive known as Vi\u0455ion 2030 would require Saudi A\u0433abia to attract talent<\/a> f\u0433om around t\u04bbe world.<\/p>\n “I think it\u00b4s on its own merits and in Saudi Arabia\u00b4s interests to continue to pursue this modernisation including the expansion of human rights,” Blinken said.<\/p>\n He said h\u0435 raised with Saudi officials specific cases of U.S.citizens detained in Saudi A\u0433abia, but \u0257eclined to g\u2c9f into det\u0251ils.<\/p>\n \u0391s well as some U.S. nationals who are subject to travel bans, human r\u0456ghts advocates \u0455ay scores of activists and d\u0456ssidents are in prison or on trial in the kingdom.<\/p>\n U.S. intelligence agencies have c\u07cbncluded that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has spearheaded the Vision 2030 \u0456nitiative, was involved in t\u04bbe 2018 murder of journalist Jam\u0251l Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.<\/p>\n Prince Mohammed denied ordering Khashoggi’s killing b\u1959t acknowledged later that it occurred “under my watch”.<\/p>\n Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in response t\u03bf a question about Riyadh’s human rights recor\u0501 that the king\u0257\u043em had \u0261one through a “significant reform process” but that the government \u1d21as \u0500riven by “the needs and desires of the Saudi people” and not pressure from other countries.<\/p>\n