Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

MBS in Greece then to France as Western energy crisis deepens

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 28 Jul 2022 09:03
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

Following the US President's trip to Saudi Arabia, Greece and France offer the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince an invitation to their countries to talk energy forgetting all about murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

  • x
  • Not only is this MbS’ first trip to Greece since Khashoggi’s murder but further his first trip West at a time when Europe is facing an energy crisis.
    Not only is this MBS’ first trip to Greece since Khashoggi’s murder but further his first trip West at a time when Europe is facing an energy crisis.

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) arrived in Greece for the first time since the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi three years ago. Bin Salman received red-carpet treatment upon his arrival where he was received with smiles, handshakes, and backslaps.

Not only is this MBS’ first trip to Greece since Khashoggi’s murder, but his first trip to the West at a time when Europe is facing an energy crisis. The de facto leader of the world’s largest oil producer has been welcomed with a warmth that would have been recently, prior to US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, considered impossible.

Amid the energy crisis, Greece’s position regarding MBS has clearly changed and the human rights problem it had faced with Riyadh turned into a distant memory as it sought to solve its energy problem through talks with Saudi Arabia with no mention of the murdered journalist.

On Tuesday, prior to the arrival of MBS in Greece, Athens’ development minister Adonis Georgiadis told Arab News that “We are deeply honored that his Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman decided to visit Greece as his first trip to an EU country since 2018,” adding that “This is very important to Greece and very important to our relationship because we honor and admire his leadership, his vision for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the way the kingdom is progressing to the new era of humanity in renewable energy, and new technology.”

Georgiadis highlights that the bilateral ties between the two countries are excellent and that as a result of those ties a cultural accord, in an unprecedented step, would be signed at the Acropolis Museum.

“This has never happened before,” said the development minister, “We have never signed an MOU with any other country in the world in the Acropolis Museum and this is a gesture from our government, from our prime minister to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to show how we feel that you are something very exceptional to us.”

Related News

EU declares largest global Ukraine support package of $200 billion

CNBC unveils strategic plan to revitalize Syria energy sector with US

Despite the killing of Khashoggi, and given the energy crisis Greece and all of the West are facing, 17 bilateral agreements have been signed between Saudi Arabia and Greece. However, the most important one is the one which anticipates the installation of an electricity cable between the two countries. MBS pledged that such an installation would provide Europe “with much cheaper energy”.

In a statement released in Jeddah, the Saudi royal court said that MBS would meet the leaders of both Greece and France, in a two-step trip, “to discuss bilateral relations and ways to enhance them in various fields as well as a number of issues of common interest”.

Following the Greece visit, MBS is being hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for talks in Paris on Thursday. The French President has, in his invitation for the de facto leader, defied criticism that such an invitation is deeply inappropriate given the dismembering of journalist Jamal Khashoggi just four years ago. However, Biden’s visit to Riyadh has also given bin Salman an approval pass in Paris for a meeting. 

France also faces the crisis Greece is facing as the war in Ukraine and the collective-West’s sanctions on Russia deepen the energy crisis throughout the West. The second topic on the table in France pertains to Iran's nuclear deal, the JCPOA. 

Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard told AFP "I feel profoundly troubled by the visit, because of what it means for our world and what it means for Jamal (Khashoggi) and people like him,” describing MBS as a man who "does not tolerate any dissent". 

It is also worth noting that MBS’ visit to Greece entailed a 700-person delegation that arrived on 7 planes; one of which has been reportedly decked out as a hospital. Furthermore, 350 limousines were requested by the Saudi mission, according to the Greek news portal iefimerida, which were not all available in Greece and some had to be brought in from Bulgaria and Germany. 

Read more: WH eyes delaying decision on MBS immunity over Khashoggi murder

  • Energy crisis
  • Mohammed Bin Salman
  • France
  • Greece
  • Ukraine
  • Oil prices
  • Saudi Arabia
  • MBS

Most Read

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025
UKLFI’s latest faux pas, like "Israel’s" recent failed attempt at regime change in Iran, is unambiguously indicative of a flailing entity on the verge of extinction. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

Zionist lawfare operation facing collapse?

  • Opinion
  • 13 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
A Hezbollah supporter who lost his sight in a pager attack carried out by "Israel" on Sept. 17, 2024, covers his eyes with a red headband inscribed with the name "Hussein" during Ashoura, July 6, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'We Have Recovered': Lebanon marks 1st anniversary of Pager Attack

The Arab neighborhood of El Za'im, on the outskirts of east Occupied Al-Quds in the West Bank, near where Israeli government says housing units will be built as part of the E1 settlement project, Thursday, August 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Palestine

'Israel’s' deliberate policies drive West Bank economy toward collapse

Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Politics

Ben & Jerry’s co-founder resigns over parent company curbing activism

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll
US & Canada

Trump’s approval rating falls to new low in second term: Poll

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS