There is still time to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but the ball remains in Tehran's court, a French presidency official said on Thursday, ahead of talks between French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
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Macron hosted bin Salman as part of increased Western efforts to court the major oil-producing state amid the war in Ukraine and faltering talks to revive a nuclear deal with Iran.
French opposition figures and human rights groups have criticized Macron's decision to invite to dinner at the Elysee Palace a man who Western leaders believe ordered the murder in 2018 of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
"The rehabilitation of the murderous prince will be justified in France as in the United States by arguments of realpolitik. But it's actually bargaining that predominates, let's face it," Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said on Twitter ahead of Prince Mohammed's visit.
Macron, who last December became the first Western leader to visit Saudi Arabia since the Khashoggi affair, has dismissed criticism of his efforts to engage the crown prince by saying the kingdom was too important to be ignored.
Ahead of a working dinner with bin Salman on Thursday evening, Macron welcomed the Saudi leader with a long handshake in front of the red-carpeted stairs of the Elysee.
They made no comments to the press.
The visit to Paris by the de facto Saudi ruler comes two weeks after he held talks in Saudi Arabia with US President Joe Biden. The West is keen to reset relations with the Gulf Arab oil giant as it seeks to counter the rising regional influence of Iran, Russia, and China.
France and other European countries are looking to diversify their sources of energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has seen Moscow cut gas supplies to Europe. Macron wants Riyadh, the world's largest oil exporter, to raise production.
A French presidency official told reporters that Macron would bring up human rights questions, including individual cases, as well as discussing oil production and the Iran nuclear deal.
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