JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — France
and Saudi Arabia have committed to "fully engage" to resolve a
diplomatic row between the Gulf kingdom and Lebanon, visiting French President
Emmanuel Macron said Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
His announcement came after meeting in the
Red Sea city of Jeddah with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, with whom Macron said he had a "no taboos"
discussion about human rights.
Macron said that he and Prince Mohammed held
a joint telephone conversation with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in an
effort to resolve the crisis that was sparked in October between Beirut and
several Gulf states — in particular Saudi Arabia, which had blocked imports.
Saudi Arabia and France "want to fully
engage" on re-establishing relations between Riyadh and Beirut, the French
president told reporters before his departure.
"With Saudi Arabia, we have made
commitments towards Lebanon: to work together, to support reforms, to enable
the country to emerge from the crisis and preserve its sovereignty,"
Macron said on Twitter.
Mikati said later that the phone call was
"an important step towards resuming historical brotherly relations"
with Riyadh.
Macron said he would speak with Lebanese
President Michel Aoun by telephone on Sunday.
The Gulf dispute has exacerbated an already
dire situation in Lebanon, which is in the grip of a deep economic and
financial crisis.
Macron's efforts likely received a boost by
the resignation of Lebanese information minister Georges Kordahi, whose remarks
on the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen sparked the row.
The French president has spearheaded
international efforts to help Lebanon out of its economic downturn, as the
country's fragile government has been struggling to secure international aid,
particularly from wealthy Arab powers.
Lebanon's ties with Gulf states have also
grown increasingly strained in recent years due to the growing influence of
Iran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah.
'Work for stability'
Macron and Prince Mohammed also discussed
bilateral relations, areas of partnership and prospects for cooperation,
according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
The French president's departure from Jeddah
ended his Gulf tour, which also saw him visit the UAE and Qatar.
He became one of the first Western leaders
to meet with Prince Mohammed in the kingdom since Saudi journalist Jamal
Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside Riyadh's Istanbul consulate in
2018.
The killing by Saudi agents severely
tarnished Prince Mohammed's international image.
Prince Mohammed shook hands with Macron, who
wore a face mask, welcoming him at the royal palace before talks and a lunch
together.
Dialogue with Saudi Arabia was necessary to
"work for stability in the region", Macron said on Friday.
However, he added in a reference to the
Khashoggi murder that "it doesn't mean that I endorse anything".
"I note that Saudi Arabia had organized
the G20 summit ... not many powers boycotted the G20," despite the
Khashoggi affair, said Macron.
"We have always been clear on the issue
of human rights or this case."
Riyadh has described the murder as a
"rogue" operation, but both the US Central Intelligence Agency and a UN
special rapporteur have directly linked Prince Mohammed to the killing, a
charge the kingdom vehemently denies.
Role to play
Macron said France had a role to play in the
region.
"But how can we work for regional
stability and on Lebanon and many other issues while ignoring the first Gulf
state in terms of geography and size?" he said, referring to the kingdom
which is the Arab world's largest economy, and the world's biggest crude
exporter.
France's Airbus said it signed a contract in
Jeddah on Saturday to sell 26 civilian helicopters to a Saudi firm, while
French waste management company Veolia said it had won a contract for drinking
water management in Riyadh.
On Friday, the UAE signed a record $15.8
billion contract for 80 French Rafale warplanes and committed billions of euros
in other deals during Macron's stopover.
Human Rights Watch criticized the sale,
saying the Emirates had played "a prominent role in the Saudi and UAE-led
coalition's atrocity-ridden military operations in Yemen.”
It said Riyadh was the largest buyer of
French weapons last year.
Both Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels and
coalition-supported forces have been accused of failing to protect civilians
during Yemen's seven-year war.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015
to support Yemen's internationally recognized government. The UAE remains part
of the alliance but started a drawdown of troops in 2019.
From the UAE Macron headed to Qatar where he
thanked the emirate for its efforts to evacuate 258 vulnerable Afghans to
France via Doha, following the Taliban's takeover of the country in August.
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