Macron receives the Saudi crown prince despite right-wing outrage

French President Emmanuel Macron receives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris on Thursday, defying criticism that the invitation was deeply inappropriate nearly four years after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.

The meeting is seen as the latest step in reintroducing the kingdom’s de facto ruler to the international community, after US President Joe Biden met the man commonly known as MBS earlier this month.

Topics at the meeting include energy supplies as concerns grow over possible power outages from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and containing the nuclear program of Riyadh’s biggest regional enemy, Iran.

MBS – portrayed at home as a champion of social and economic reform but seen by critics as a murderous tyrant – arrives in France fresh from a trip to Greece to discuss energy relations.

“I am deeply disturbed by the visit because of what it means for our world and for Jamal (Khashoggi) and people like him,” Agnes Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, told AFP, describing MBS as a man who ” that does not tolerate any contradiction”.

The visits mark MBS’ first trip to the EU since the 2018 assassination of Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, a crime that a UN investigation has labeled an “extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible”. designated.

It also said there was “credible evidence” warranting further investigation into the individual liability of senior Saudi officials, including MBS.

US intelligence found that MBS “approved” the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death, though Riyadh denies it and blames rogue agents.

The killing sparked outrage not only for the elimination of a prominent critic of the Saudi regime, but also for the way it was carried out. Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi consulate on October 2, 2018, strangled and dismembered, reportedly with a bone saw.

“The visit of MBS to France and Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia does not change the fact that MBS is anything but a murderer,” said Callamard, who was the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial killings at the time of the killing and led the independent probe .

His reception by world leaders was “all the more shocking because many of them expressed their disgust (at the murder) at the time and pledged not to bring MBS back into the international community,” she added, decrying the “double standard”.

But despite concerns about Saudi Arabia’s legal record, the kingdom is viewed by many in the West as an essential partner because of its energy resources, arms purchases and staunch opposition to Iran’s theocratic regime.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made the kingdom’s oil and gas reserves all the more important to the West.

Callamard expressed concern that “values ​​would be wiped out amid concerns about soaring oil prices.”

The French President had previously traveled to the UK for talks with MBS in December 2021, a visit that caused a stir at the time.

Due to the ailing condition of his father, King Salman, MBS is responsible for the day-to-day running of the country.

Macron will meet MBS fresh from talks with two of the kingdom’s close allies, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi. The red carpet welcome for both leaders dismayed activists.

Macron will also arrive from a three-nation tour of Africa, where he visited Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau, all of which are not considered model democracies.

After Biden’s recent fist-bump salute, which for many symbolized the West’s re-acceptance of MBS, there will be a great deal of interest in body language between Macron and Prince Mohammed.

The talks are due to start late in the day at 20:30 (1830 GMT) and will include a working lunch at the Elysee Palace. MBS reportedly arrived at a Paris airport late Wednesday and drove to a private home outside of the city.

“The war in Ukraine has put energy-producing countries back in the spotlight, and they’re taking advantage of that,” said Camille Lons, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

“This gives them a political clout that they will use to reassert their importance on the international stage,” she added.