The prince was on Thursday in France, where he was scheduled to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace.
Mohammed was previously shunned by both the Biden administration and European governments after U.S. intelligence concluded that he approved the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey’s largest city. But as Western nations face steep Russian energy cuts and soaring gas prices as a result of the war in Ukraine, some leaders have
, downplaying concerns over the country’s human rights record while stressing what officials say is Riyadh’s important role as a strategic partner.Saudi Arabia has the world’s second-largest proven oil reserves, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “The relationship with Saudi Arabia is bigger than any one individual,” Secretary of State Antony BlinkenEarlier this month, President Biden traveled to Jiddah to meet with several Middle Eastern leaders, including Mohammed, greeting the prince with a fist bump that drew criticism even from within his own party. Biden said he confronted the prince directly about the Khashoggi killing, “making clear what I thought of it at the time and what I think of it now.