France: Less than four years after the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, French President Emmanuel Macron warmly welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to talks in Paris, despite backlash over several controversial powerhouses.
The meeting was the most recent development in the diplomatic resettlement of the de facto ruler of the kingdom, which was abandoned by the West following the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Before dinner on Thursday, Macron gave a cordial greeting to the ruler, known as the MBS. The two men shared a warm handshake, which they insisted on using all four hands.
After facing criticism from human rights organizations and Khashoggi's fiancée, Macron led MBS to the red carpet at the Elysee Palace.
Although Elysee was expected to make a statement later, neither man said anything. Following US President Joe Biden's visit to Riyadh earlier this month, MBS whom both his supporters and opponents see as an ambitious dictator with a ruthless tendency arrived in France.
This week, on his first visit to the European Union since Khashoggi's assassination, he stayed in Greece on his way to France.
Saudi Arabia is responsible for the "extra-judicial killing" of Jamal Khashoggi, according to a UN investigation.
According to US intelligence agencies, the operation that resulted in Khashoggi's death was "approved" by MBS. Riyadh disputes this and attributes it to evil agents.
When Jamal Khashoggi disappeared from the Istanbul consulate, his wife Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside when he went missing, said on Thursday, "I am outraged and annoyed that Emmanuel Macron has been taken away from my fiancée Jamal's." The executioner has to be killed at all, to get respect.
According to Cengiz, MBS's responsibility in the murder has been acknowledged by "all international investigations conducted up to this point".
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard expressed "grave discomfort" over the visit and what it means for Jamal (Khashoggi) and others like him.
She went on to say that MBS is a man who "doesn't tolerate any dissent." But the 36-year-old de facto leader of the world's largest oil producer has emerged as a key figure for Western nations desperate to find new energy sources.
Energy costs skyrocketed after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February, and Western nations began searching for resources to replace oil and gas coming from Russia.
Amid the global energy and food crisis, a Macron aide defended working dinners, promising to advance human rights.
Under condition of anonymity, the aide said, "he will talk about it (rights) in the usual way, but will also take the opportunity to raise personal matters."
The aide added, "The only way for a president to influence and address the issues facing France and European countries is to speak with all of our partners.
He reiterated France's long-standing demand that Khashoggi's gruesome piece be investigated and those responsible "brought to justice."
French Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne denied allegations that her nation was reneging on its promises to uphold human rights, saying the visit "clearly does not cast doubt on our principles."
Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist, was murdered, and not only because he was a well-known opponent of the Saudi government, but also because of how it was done.
On October 2, 2018, he was sedated at the Saudi consulate, where he was allegedly cut to a bone and strangled.
On Thursday, three human rights organizations—including Khashoggi's founding organization, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), filed a criminal complaint against MBS in Paris, accusing him of complicity in the heinous act.
According to Dawn's executive director Sarah Leah Whiston, MBS should immediately be the subject of a criminal investigation.
Greens presidential candidate Yannick Jadot questioned, "Will Khashoggi's dismembered body be on the menu?", adding to criticism within France. climate? human rights? No, oil and weapons will be used. The exact opposite of what needs to be done.
The French president first hosted MBS in 2018, taking him to the Louvre art exhibition. In December 2021, he visited the state for additional talks.
According to a source who asked to remain anonymous, the Saudi powerhouse spent the night at their Louis XIV chateau in Louisiane west of Paris, which they bought in 2015.
Despite its name, a company run by Khashoggi's cousin Imad only began construction on the palace in 2009.
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