Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) receives French President Emmanuel Macron in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah in 2021. Photo: Bandar AL-JALOUD / Saudi Royal Palace/AFPSource: AFPFrench President Emmanuel Macron is hosting Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris on Thursday, defying criticism that the invitation is deeply inappropriate barely four years after the murder by Saudi agents of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. It also said there was "credible evidence" warranting further investigation of the individual liability of high-level Saudi officials, including MBS. Khashoggi was lured into the Saudi consulate on October 2, 2018, strangled and dismembered, reportedly with a bonesaw. Macron will be meeting MBS fresh from talks with two close allies of the kingdom, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

Source: Daily Nation July 28, 2022 22:02 UTC