French President Emmanuel Macron discussed and stressed the importance of working with Saudi Arabia to resolve Europe’s energy fears in a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday. The French President underlined “the importance of pursuing the committed coordination with Saudi Arabia in the perspective of the diversification of European states’ energy supplies,” according to an Élysée Palace readout released Friday. In a wide-ranging discussion, the two also touched upon the question of human rights in Saudi Arabia. This week, Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom cut flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany in half, to just 20% of its capacity. In response to the turmoil, the White House dispatched presidential coordinator for global energy Amos Hochstein to Europe on Tuesday, officials said.

Source: Egypt Independent July 29, 2022 11:32 UTC