Saudi FM receives French delegation in Riyadh

By Mohamed Fahd

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir late Wednesday evening received a French Foreign Ministry delegation in Riyadh.

The meeting tackled “regional and international issues” and means of enhancing bilateral cooperation in Yemen, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

The French delegation was led by Jerome Bonnafont, head of the French Foreign Ministry’s Middle East and North Africa Department.

Notably, the visit comes after Saudi Arabia on Tuesday denied claims by French President Emmanuel Macron in which he said the Saudi authorities had “held” Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri against his will last November.

In a televised interview broadcast last week, Macron hailed French diplomacy for maintaining peace and stability in Lebanon.

“If France hadn’t been listened to then, there probably would be a war in Lebanon at this moment,” Macron said in the interview.

“It’s French diplomacy; it’s our action,” he added. “I remind you that a prime minister was held in Saudi Arabia for several weeks.”

On Nov. 4, Hariri abruptly announced his resignation from the Lebanese premiership in a televised address delivered from Saudi Arabia, long considered his chief political patron.

He remained in Riyadh for more than two weeks before finally returning to Lebanon -- via France -- on Nov. 21.