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Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) and Mohammed bin Salman in Athens: This is the crown prince's first trip to Europe since 2018
Photo: Yorgos Karahalis/AP
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman travels to Greece and then to France on Tuesday - it is his first visit to the EU since the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to the official SPA news agency.
Against the background of the war in Ukraine and skyrocketing energy prices, the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince is returning to the international stage: Less than two weeks ago, US President Joe Biden bin Salman paid a visit to Saudi Arabia, which included a Increasing the amount of oil produced in the Gulf state - so that the price of oil falls and inflation in the USA is curbed.
symbolic journey
Observers describe the Crown Prince's trip to Europe as highly symbolic.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Western countries were extremely strained after the assassination of critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Khashoggi, who wrote a column for the Washington Post, was brutally killed by a hit squad in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in autumn 2018.
US intelligence agencies see the crown prince as directly responsible.
He denied ordering the killing.
Apparently meetings with Macron planned
According to the report, the Crown Prince will meet "leaders of these two countries" in France and Greece.
Bin Salman wanted to talk about bilateral relations and ways to "strengthen them in various areas," it said.
The trip was on the instructions of the Saudi King Salman.
It was unclear whether "leader" meant French President Emmanuel Macron.
There was initially no official confirmation from the French side for the visit.
In Riyadh, the German press agency learned from diplomatic circles that Macron would receive the crown prince in the Élysée Palace.
The meeting was held at Macron's invitation, it said.
Among other things, the visit is about “security and stability in the region”.
On Tuesday, the crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia left for Greece.
According to information from Athens, a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was planned there.
ani/dpa/AFP