\"The fist bump between President Biden and Mohammed bin Salman was worse than a handshake—it was shameful,\" Washington Post Publisher and CEO Fred Ryan said in a statement. \"It projected a level of intimacy and comfort that delivers to MBS the unwarranted redemption he has been desperately seeking.\"

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, told ABC News the Saudi side of the exchange between MBS and Biden over Khashoggi's murder.

He told ABC Senior White House Correspondent Mary Bruce that the crown prince called his death a \"terrible mistake\" that Saudi Arabia is \"paying a price for\" -- but that the Saudis firmly reject the \"totally baseless\" charges that MBS approved the murder.

\"Nobody holds the United States or President Bush responsible for Abu Ghraib because they know wasn't ordered by him. It happened because people did not follow their orders,\" al-Jubeir said.

\"In the case of Saudi Arabia, logic was thrown to the wind and everybody ended up throwing charges at the kingdom, and at our leadership that are totally baseless,\" he said.

The meeting comes three years after Biden vowed, as a presidential candidate, to make the Saudis and MBS, as he's known, a global \"pariah.\"

Nevertheless, Biden was given a warm reception on Friday in Jeddah as he sat across from the Saudi crown prince.

\"Mr. President, welcome to Saudi Arabia,\" said a smiling crown price, clearly delighted that Biden made the trip to his turf.

Mohammed bin Salman and members of the Saudi delegation appeared pleasant throughout their brief discussion, with the powerful Saudi leader appearing to nod as Biden spoke to him.

\"PHOTO:
Evan Vucci/AP
PHOTO: President Joe Biden participates in a working session with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Al Salman Royal Palace, July 15, 2022, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
>

Before reporters were ushered out, they peppered the leaders, unsuccessfully, with questions, asking the crown prince if he would apologize to the Khashoggi's family.

When one reporter asked Biden if Saudia Arabia is still a pariah state, a noticeable smirk was briefly spotted on Mohammed bin Salman's face.

\"PHOTO:
Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Court via Reuters
PHOTO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fist bumps President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022.
>

Biden, continuing his first visit to the Middle East as president, shared a fist bump with Mohammed bin Salman upon meeting him outside the Al Salam Royal Palace,, ahead of their highly-anticipated meeting despite criticism around the Saudi Arabia stop. The close-up photo of the moment was provided by the Saudis, who wanted it seen around the world.

\"PHOTO:
Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Royal Court via Reuters
PHOTO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives President Joe Biden at Al Salman Palace upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022.
>

Biden met, separately, with the prince's father, King Salman.

\"PHOTO:
Saudi Royal Palace/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: President Joe Biden meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Salam Palace in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 15, 2022.
>

Earlier, the president stepped off Air Force One in Jeddah and onto a lavender carpet -- symbolic of blooming flowers in the Saudi Kingdom -- shortly after 11 a.m. ET, descending the steps and greeted immediately by two individuals. He fist bumped the first greeter and shook hands with others. He then walked towards the \"Beast\" -- the armored presidential limousine -- stopping to greet a few other officials lined up for his arrival, accompanied by national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

\"PHOTO:
Evan Vucci/AP
PHOTO: President Joe Biden is greeted by Saudi Arabia officials as he arrives at King Abdulaziz International Airport, July 15, 2022, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
>

Sullivan pushed back again Friday on a reporter's suggestion that Biden was \"dancing around\" whether he would directly address Khashoggi's murder, despite the slain journalist's fiancé saying the White House assured her his specific case would be raised.

\"I think it's wrong to say the president was dancing around it,\" Sullivan said, ticking through Biden's statement on the matter.

\"First statement, he doesn't describe the details of what he is going to raise in meetings, particularly before he's had them, because he wants to go have those meetings. Second statement, he always raises issues of human rights, and this will be no different,\" Sullivan said.

Although, as a presidential candidate, Biden vowed to make oil-rich Saudi Arabia a \"pariah\" state over Khashoggi's murder, the rapprochement in U.S.-Saudi Arabia relations comes at a time when gas prices have skyrocketed as the West has attempted to boycott Russian oil, ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, and as Biden faces calls to balance security interests with human rights concerns.

\"PHOTO:
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: President Joe Biden is welcomed at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Jeddah on July 15, 2022.
>

Biden has defended his trip to the oil-rich nation, writing in an op-ed for The Washington Post published ahead of his visit that \"my aim was to reorient -- but not rupture -- relations with a country that's been a strategic partner for 80 years.\"

\"As president, it is my job to keep our country strong and secure,\" he wrote. \"We have to counter Russia's aggression, put ourselves in the best possible position to outcompete China, and work for greater stability in a consequential region of the world.\"

But Sullivan on Friday ahead of the meeting downplayed any chance of an agreement from Saudi Arabia to increase oil production as a result of Biden's meetings in the kingdom.

\"I don't think you should expect a particular announcement here bilaterally,\" he told reporters on AF1. \"We will discuss energy security at this meeting,\" he said broadly, when asked if the public should expect an agreement.

\"PHOTO:
Bloomberg via Getty Images
PHOTO: President Joe Biden, speaks during an arrival ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 13, 2022.
>

Since taking office, Biden has spoken twice with King Salman, the crown prince's father, who officially rules the country, but had dispatched Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to serve as his administration's point of contact with the crown prince, in what was widely perceived as a snub to the powerful Saudi leader.

On Saturday, Biden plans to attend a summit of Arab leaders in Jeddah, a meeting that the crown prince will also attend, though it's not yet clear how the two leaders will interact or engage there.

Biden noted in his op-ed he would be the first U.S. president to fly from Israel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, describing it as a \"small symbol\" of the deepening ties between Israel and the Arab world.

ABC News' Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

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