French president to Saudi crown prince: 'You never listen to me'

The Hill ^ | 11/30/18 | Aris Folley

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday reportedly insisted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman include international experts as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A French official said the two leaders discussed Khashoggi’s murder during a five-minute exchange that took place on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Argentina, where they also talked about the need to find a solution to the situation in Yemen, Reuters reported.

The Saudi Gazette newspaper shared a clip of the brief exchange. In one part of the clip, the crown prince can be heard telling Macron “don’t worry,” to which the French leader responds: “I am worried,” according to Reuters.

It was not clear what topic the two were discussing at that moment.

Macron also said, “You never listen to me,” to which the prince the replied, “I will listen, of course,” Reuters reported.

Macron is later heard saying: “I am a man of my word.”

The exchange reportedly marked the first time Macron has spoken to the crown prince since Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

Khashoggi had been an outspoken critic of Saudi leadership as an opinion writer for The Washington Post.

Riyadh has made efforts to distance the crown prince from Khashoggi's death in the wake of news reports that the CIA concluded that the journalist was murdered following orders from the Saudi leader.

While many world leaders have condemned the crown prince over Khashoggi’s murder, Trump has abeen reluctant to do the same, saying the Saudi leader has denied any involvement.

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Macron is later heard saying: “I am a man of my word.”