EU Defends Saudi Prince's Controversial Visit as 'Natural Part' of Foreign Relations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union's chief foreign policy spokesman on Thursday defended the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Greece and France as the natural order of things after being challenged about the royal's suspected role in the murder of a dissident journalist.

"It’s a natural part of our relations: enhancing the relations, reviewing the relations, advancing the relations," Peter Stano told a briefing when asked to comment on the appropriateness of inviting the Saudi de facto leader to Europe.

Western powers have until recently shunned the oil-rich state after accusing the prince of a role in the 2018 murder of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A growing energy squeeze in Europe has melted the ice between Brussels and Riyadh.

Stano said the EU was interested in enhancing the relationship with Saudi Arabia in a number of fields, not the least in the fields of energy and the green transition.

Grilled about EU's position on the murder of the Washington Post columnist, whose body was never found, Stano said it remained unchanged.

"It is very clear we expect a full investigation, clarification, accountability in this case. This is raised regularly," he added.

The Saudi crown prince arrived in Greece on Tuesday for talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and is expected to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron over dinner later on Thursday.

Two non-profits filed a criminal complaint with the Paris tribunal on the day of Mohammed bin Salman's arrival in Paris, asking it to investigate him over Khashoggi's killing. They argued that the prince should not have immunity from prosecution because he is not a head of state.

French leftist politicians and human rights advocates took to social media to criticize Macron for hosting the Saudi prince. Human Rights Watch Director for France Benedicte Jeannerod said Macron risked "further rehabilitating him and whitewashing his image" in Europe.

Yannick Jadot, a member of France's Greens party who ran against Macron in this year's election, said the centrist president would have "gas and arms" on his plate during the dinner with bin Salman, instead of Khashoggi, human rights and climate change.

Daniele Obono, the spokeswoman for Jean-Luc Melenchon's La France Insoumise party, likewise questioned Macron's double standards that allowed him to sanction Russia over Ukraine while welcoming the Saudi royal who had ordered deadly attacks on Yemen.