Macron counts on Saudi prince to 'ease' Ukraine war effects
The Hindu
Macron and bin Salman meet to ‘intensify their cooperation to ease the effects (of the war) in Europe, the Middle East and the world’
French leader Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to work "to ease the effects" of the Ukraine war, Mr. Macron's office said on Friday, after talks in Paris that marked the full diplomatic rehabilitation of the Saudi leader.
Like U.S. President Joe Biden who visited Riyadh earlier this month, Mr. Macron had been keen to secure extra oil production from the de facto Saudi leader who was a pariah in the West until recently.
A French statement made no reference to any agreement during a dinner on Thursday night, but said the two men had agreed to "intensify their cooperation to ease the effects (of the war) in Europe, the Middle East and the world".
The meeting outraged rights groups because of the Crown Prince's suspected role in the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Western leaders snubbed the 36-year-old prince after Saudi agents killed Khashoggi inside Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul.
But the heir to the Middle East's most powerful throne is being courted again as Europe and its allies urgently seek fresh sources of fossil fuels to replace lost Russian production.
As he left on Friday, he expressed his "deepest gratitude and appreciation for the warm reception and hospitality" in a statement posted online by the Saudi foreign ministry.
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