The French President visits the Saudi Crown Prince. And comes too close to the man who, according to the CIA, is said to have commissioned the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
Often the ends justify the means in diplomacy. To achieve change, democratically elected heads of state cannot shy away from speaking to authoritarian rulers. Most recently, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone calls to the Belarusian ruler may have contributed to the détente on the EU’s eastern border. In the statements of the federal government, the dictator was then only referred to as “Mr. Lukashenko”. Because conversations like this are also about the choice of words, the style, and therefore about keeping a proper distance.
That’s why France’s President didn’t give a damn during his visit to Saudi Arabia. When he shook hands with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Emmanuel Macron patted the de facto ruler on the arm. A gesture of warmth and appreciation for someone the CIA blames for ordering the murder of journalist and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi. Macron is the first Western head of state to travel to the kingdom since the murder three years ago. “We are a great nation and we have to play in the concert of the great, it always has been,” he said, assuring that he had also addressed critical issues such as the Saudi involvement in the Yemen war. He did not comment on Khashoggi. As a justification for his visit, he cited the situation in Lebanon above all. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states recently recalled their ambassadors and decided on sanctions. Macron’s attempts to help the Lebanese after the devastating explosion in Beirut had so far failed.
During his four-hour visit he got a phone call with bin Salman and Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Miqati. In return, the heir to the throne was given the impression of being resumed in the West. To avoid precisely that, US President Joe Biden had only communicated with King Salman bin Abdulaziz, bin Salman’s father, since he took office.