Trump poses next to Saudi crown prince in G-20 group photo

President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman posed next to each other for a photo of world leaders on Friday at the Group of 20 summit in Japan, exchanging pleasantries in the process.

Trump and the crown prince could be seen making conversation and smiling as they stood next to each other for the “family photo” at the gathering of world leaders. Trump stood between the Saudi royal and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

 

The president was also spotted shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of a bilateral meeting between the two men.

{mosads}While Trump was not responsible for where he stood for the photo, the positioning created an odd dynamic as congressional lawmakers have sought to pressure the president over U.S.-Saudi relations.

The Senate last week voted to block Trump’s Saudi arms deal, setting up a potential veto from the White House. The House still needs to vote on the legislation, which involves more than $8 billion in total arms sales.

In addition, lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are moving forward with separate legislation that would penalize Saudi Arabia or handcuff the president in doing business with the Middle Eastern nation. 

Saudi Arabia has been a longtime ally of U.S. interests in the Middle East, a point Trump has stressed even amid tense points in the relationship between the two countries, such as last year’s killing of U.S-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Lawmakers expressed outrage over the killing of the Washington Post columnist, who had been a critic of Saudi leadership. The Trump administration failed to meet a deadline to issue a report to Congress on who was responsible for Khashoggi’s death, while many lawmakers have accused the crown prince of directing the killing.

Trump is scheduled to meet with the Saudi crown prince for a bilateral meeting on Saturday morning local time in Japan.