France’s Macron to discuss Ukraine with Saudi Crown Prince this week

FILE PHOTO: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman attends the 14th Islamic summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Waleed Ali/File Photo reuters_tickers

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the war in Ukraine and other matters when he meets Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday, the French presidency said.

The planned talks between Macron and the Saudi crown prince come just a month after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended a summit of the Arab League in Saudi Arabia to canvas support, during a meeting at which bin Salman expressed his readiness to mediate in the war between Moscow and Kyiv.

The Saudi state news agency earlier reported that bin Salman had left for France.

The crown prince’s agenda also includes presiding over the Saudi delegation during an international Summit for a New Global Financing Pact, to be held on June 22-23, and taking part in the kingdom’s official reception of Riyadh’s candidacy to host Expo 2030 on June 19.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Elizabeth Pineau; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Mark Potter)