It was a reception that created controversy. President Emmanuel Macron welcomed Thursday, July 28 with a long handshake the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salmane, invited for a working dinner at the Elysée Palace in Paris. The Head of State warmly greeted his host, dressed in traditional Saudi attire. It is his first visit to Europe since the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an act for which US intelligence services believe the Saudi crown prince is responsible.
The arrival at the Elysée Palace of Mohammed bin Salman, for whom this is the first visit to Europe since the assassination of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey less than four years ago.
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– Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) July 28, 2022
In its report of the meeting of the two leaders, Friday, the Elysée affirmed that, “dWithin the framework of the dialogue of trust between France and Saudi Arabia, the President of the Republic addressed the issue of human rights in Saudi Arabia., without further details. Before the meeting, the presidency had already assured that the subject would be mentioned by Emmanuel Macron “as he does every time with Mohammed Ben Salmane”.
The press release also states that Emmanuel Macron and Mohammed Ben Salmane “welcomed the strengthening of exchanges” between their two countries and “have agreed to [les] develop and [les] deepen”. The Saudi Crown Prince, for his part, thanked Emmanuel Macron “for [son] warm welcome and [son] hospitality”in a message on Friday.
The meeting between Emmanuel Macron and Mohammed Ben Salmane signs a little more the “rehabilitation” of the leader de facto kingdom, less than two weeks after US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia. This meeting marked the return of the crown prince, nicknamed “MBS”, on the international scene, in a context of war in Ukraine and soaring energy prices.
This visit angered human rights groups. Two NGOs announced that they had filed a complaint in France on Thursday morning for “complicity in torture and enforced disappearance” after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul (Turkey). The latter’s fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, said to herself “scandalized and outraged that Emmanuel Macron receives with all honors the executioner of my fiancé”.
The Elysée affirms that this dinner was necessary, in view of the surge in energy prices, the food crisis in the Middle East and concerns related to the Iranian nuclear program. “If we want to confront each other, tackle the consequences of these crises on the one hand and weigh in the region for the benefit of all, the only way is to speak with all the main players”said the presidency.