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After visiting the Basque Country and Qatar, Macron of France met Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia to discuss the “stability” of the region.
French President Emmanuel Macron ended his Gulf tour after a meeting with the de facto Saudi Arabian authorities in Jeddah.
The meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday, after Macron’s meeting with the Emir of Qatar, was to discuss regional stability, especially in the crisis-stricken Lebanon, after stressing that he had ignored Riyadh’s rights history.
Macron landed in Jeddah on a short tour of the Gulf after visiting the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
After Saudi journalist Macron, Prince Mohammed has become one of the first Western leaders to gather in the kingdom. Jamal Khashoggi was killed and in 2018 it was disbanded inside the Istanbul consulate in Riyadh.
The assassination of Saudi agents severely tarnished the international image of Prince Mohammed and led to widespread condemnation.
But Macron said dialogue with Saudi Arabia was necessary to “work for the stability of the region.” However, referring to Khashoggi’s assassination, he added that “it does not mean that I accept anything”.
“I noticed that Saudi Arabia had organized a G20 summit … many powers did not boycott the G20,” despite the Khashoggi affair, Macron said.
“We’ve always been clear about human rights or this issue.”
Riyadh has described the killing as a “malicious” operation, but both the US Central Intelligence Agency and a United Nations special rapporteur have directly linked it to the assassination of Prince Mohammed, an accusation strongly denied by the kingdom.
Resolving relations with Lebanon
In talks with Prince Mohammed, Macron was expected to defend the case in Lebanon, where the economic crisis was exacerbated by a diplomatic dispute between Beirut and some Gulf states in October – which particularly blocked imports from Saudi Arabia.
It is likely that his efforts will be boosted by the resignation of Lebanese Information Minister Georges Kordahi, who raised the issue of Saudi intervention in the Yemeni war.
In October, videos of an interview with Kordahi a month before his appointment began aired on the network, in which he said Iran-aligned Houthis were “defending themselves … against an outside attack” in Yemen.
He also said the long-running conflict was “useless” and called for an end.
The fragile Lebanese government has struggled to secure international aid, especially from wealthy Arab powers.
“Human rights violations”
On Friday, the BAC signed a record 14 billion-euro ($ 15.8 billion) contract for 80 French warplanes in Rafale and pledged billions of euros in other deals during Macron’s shutdown.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticized the sale, saying the Basque Country has “played a significant role in the military operations of the Saudi-led coalition led by the United States in Yemen.”
Last year, Riyadh was France’s largest arms buyer, HRW added.
“She is OK [Macron] it should speak out against human rights violations, ”HRW said he said in a statement on Thursday before the Gulf Tour.
“France will continue to be a stain on Macron’s diplomatic record in the name and counter-terrorism of France in the name of terrorism and at the expense of human rights,” the group said.
Yemeni Iran-backed Houthi rebels and coalition-backed forces have been accused of failing to protect civilians. The Seven Years’ War in Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to support Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The Basque Country remains part of the alliance, but in 2019 troops fell.
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