After Khashoggi murder: Emmanuel Macron visits Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

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Handshake with Mohammed bin Salman: The Crown Prince denies being involved in the murder of Khashoggi

Photo: - / dpa

For the first time since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, French President Emmanuel Macron was the first Western head of state to visit Saudi Arabia again. Macron met on Saturday in the port city of Jeddah for talks with the Saudi crown prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman. He is the first Western head of state or government to tour the monarchy since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. The G20 summit planned in Riyadh a year ago only took place virtually because of the corona pandemic.

The US government published an intelligence report in February that said Salman was implicated in the Khashoggi assassination. The Crown Prince denies this. Khashoggi disappeared from the Saudi Arabian consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul in October 2018. It later emerged that he had been murdered by a special squad. His body has disappeared to this day. From the United States, Khashoggi had published opinion pieces in the Washington Post that criticized Salman.

According to information from the German Press Agency, Macron assured after the meeting that he had also openly addressed critical issues. "We talked about everything without any taboos," Macron said before leaving. “We were of course able to raise the issue of human rights. That was a direct and hopefully effective exchange. The next few weeks and months will tell whether we can make any progress on the subject. ”Macron did not say whether the murder of Khashoggi came up directly.

Macron had denied allegations on Friday that he legitimized the crown prince.

Rather, the various crises in the region could not be resolved by ignoring Saudi Arabia.

Macron believes the country is indispensable for signing a regional peace agreement with Iran.

Macron also believes that the kingdom is an ally in the fight against Islamist extremists.

France is one of the most important arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia.

ime / Reuters / dpa