French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday as part of a Gulf tour that includes the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
Macron is expected to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the visit for talks on regional issues, including the crisis in Lebanon and stalled nuclear talks with Iran, France 24 reported.
The French president’s visit to the oil-rich kingdom is the first by a Western leader since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
“Who can think for one second that we can help Lebanon and preserve peace and stability in the Middle East if we say: ‘We’re not going to speak to Saudi Arabia, the most populated and most powerful country in the Gulf’?” Macron told reporters in Dubai, the first leg of his tour.
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