U.S. President Joe Biden said he raised the issue of the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the start of his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, AP reported.

"I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my new crystal clear. I said very straightforwardly, for an American president to be silent on an issue of human rights is inconsistent with who we are and who I am," he added.

Biden also announced that U.S. peacekeepers would leave Tiran Island in the Red Sea by the end of the year, part of an agreement reached in what he called "a good series of meetings" in Jeddah.

U.S. intelligence believes that Saudi Arabia's crown prince likely approved the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi four years ago.