Saudi Crown Prince receives 'firm message' on Khashoggi probe at G20 summit
BUENOS AIRES
French President Emmanuel Macron told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Europeans will insist on international experts being part of the investigations into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an Elysee official told Reuters on Nov. 30.
In a 5-min exchange on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina, Macron conveyed "very firm" messages to the prince over the murder of Khashoggi and on the need to find a political solution for the situation in Yemen, the official added.
Macron was heard in a video from the summit telling the crown prince "I told you ... You never listen to me."
MbS: "Don't worry."
— Luke Baker (@BakerLuke) 30 Kasım 2018
Macron: "I do worry. I am worried."
MbS: inaudible "That's right"
Macron: "I told you."
MbS: "Yes, you told me."
Macron: "You never listen to me."
MbS: "No, I listen of course."
Macron: "Because I told you..."
MbS: "It's OK"
Macron: "I am a man of my word." https://t.co/QZBwT3g9LB
The crown prince was in Argentina for the G20 Summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other leaders.
Putin was filmed while warmly welcoming Mohammed bin Salman.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at #G20Summit pic.twitter.com/AzvHXg2oWX
— CSPAN (@cspan) 30 Kasım 2018
British Prime Minister Theresa May also urged Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler to hold the killers of Khashoggi to account and to ensure that Riyadh cooperates fully with Turkey, her office said Nov. 30.
May held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires.
"The prime minister stressed the importance of ensuring that those responsible for the appalling murder of Jamal Khashoggi are held to account and that Saudi Arabia takes action to build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again,” her office said.
May encouraged the prince to ensure that Saudi Arabia will cooperate fully with Turkish authorities and work to “bring both investigations to an acceptable close”.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
IN PHOTOS: Saudis initially planned to kill Khashoggi in countryside villa, not consulate: Report
After weeks of saying he had left the consulate alive, the Saudi administration later admitted he was killed there, blaming his death on a group of rogue Saudi operatives.
“On the issue of Yemen, we continue to be deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation,” May said.
“The long-term solution for the Yemen is a political situation and we will be encouraging all parties actually to look for that and work for that,” she added.
Mohammed bin Salman was met with protests in Buenos Aires as the summit was expected to create tensions between the Saudi prince and western leaders.
The G-20 was supposed to focus on issues like development, infrastructure and investment, but as the gathering officially kicked off, those themes seemed like afterthoughts, overshadowed by contentious matters from the U.S.-China trade dispute and the Khashoggi case to the conflicts in Ukraine and Yemen.
Argentine judge seeks help from Turkey on Prince Salman's involvement in Khashoggi murder
