Friday, July 14, 2023

UK Invites Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Visit

THE GUARDIAN: Saudi heir’s official visit would be first since he was accused of being behind killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Prince Mohammed visiting Paris last month, where he attended a climate finance summit. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has been invited to the UK on an official visit in late autumn, the first such visit by the heir to the Saudi throne since he was accused of masterminding the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist and dissident.

Numerous UK ministers have been to Saudi Arabia in the interim, and senior Saudi ministers have also come to the UK, including the foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

Prince Mohammed also spent nearly a week in Paris last month meeting the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and attending a climate finance summit.

News of the UK visit, first reported by the Financial Times, comes as Saudi Arabia tries to end the war in Yemen, and has opened up diplomatic relations with Iran. The US is seeking to persuade Saudi Arabia also to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel, but Riyadh, unlike its Gulf Arab allies the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, is resisting until there is progress on the Palestinian issue. » | Patrick Wintour, Diplomatic editor | Friday, July 14, 2023

Rishi Sunak 'invites Mohammad bin Salman to visit UK': The Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, would be visiting for the first time since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi »