Royal Road Ahead: Saudi Prince Leaves G20 Confident, Turning Corner After Khashoggi Scandal

ROYAL ROAD AHEAD: SAUDI PRINCE
LEAVES G20 CONFIDENT, TURNING

CORNER AFTER KHASHOGGI SCANDAL
 World appears to be moving forward following shocking murder of journalist
and Mohammed bin Salman appears happy to join them
BY JAMES M. DORSEY
2 DEC 2018
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Part of the ‘family photo’ featuring world leaders including Saudi Arabia’s
Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on
November 30, 2018. Photo: EPA
THERE WAS A high-five from Vladimir Putin. And for Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi
it was business as usual.
At home, Saudi Arabia’s media trumpeted Mohammed bin Salman’s meetings with
world leaders, tweeting pictures of his encounters, which also included the
presidents of South Korea, Mexico, and South Africa.
However, Western leaders appeared to avoid the crown prince during the family
photo at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires – after almost two months of global
outrage at the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The only Arab leader
there, the prince stood rather isolated at the end of the line, at times looking
uncertain and nervous.
Mohammed waiti ng for the famil y photo at the G20 s ummit i n Buenos Aires on N ovember 30, 2018. Photo: Reuters
US President Donald Trump, Prince Mohammed’s most vocal backer, did not have
time for a one-on-one meeting.
Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri kept the prince hanging on when it came to
finding time to talk.
During an informal conversation on the sidelines of the summit, French President

Emmanuel Macron was overheard admonishing Mohammed, saying he “never
listened”, while the crown prince tried to assure him that “it’s OK”. French officials
later said the men were discussing the killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in
Istanbul and the war in Yemen.
Princ e M ohammed c hatti ng with Frenc h Presi dent Emmanuel Macron in Buenos Aires . Photo: Bandar al-J aloud/Saudi R oyal Pal ace/AF P
Similarly, British Prime Minister Theresa May opted to focus on those two topics,
rather than economics and trade as her country struggles with the uncertainty of
Brexit, the UK’s departure from the European Union. May insisted Riyadh needed “to
build confidence that such a deplorable incident could not happen again”, referring to
the Saudi team sent to Turkey to murder Khashoggi.
The message Prince Mohammed probably took home from the G20 summit was that
illiberal democratic, authoritarian and autocratic leaders were happy to do business
with the kingdom and the crown prince despite persistent assertions that he ordered
the killing.
British Pri me Minister T her es a M ay and Princ e M ohammad during their meeting i n Buenos Air es. Photo: EPA
Trump and western Europe’s leaders appeared to play to public opinion but do
nothing to threaten their relations with the kingdom. The US president also chose not
to have a formal meeting with Prince Mohammed’s foremost detractor, Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The crown prince may also have been heartened that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
of Canada, which Saudi Arabia had a diplomatic row with earlier this year, was the
only leader to raise the Khashoggi issue during the G20’s formal proceedings.
Canadian Prime Mi nister Justin Trudeau duri ng a pl enar y s essi on at the G20 Summit on D ecember 1, 2018. Photo: EPA
Other US allies made clear the kingdom’s financial largesse and willingness to
guarantee the flow of oil would go a long way to ensure they would choose realism
above principle.
The Saudi Press Agency reported after Mohammed’s meeting with Modi that the
crown prince pledged to meet India’s oil and petroleum product needs.
Prince Mohammed may have achieved his goal of showing Saudi Arabia –
specifically himself – remained a player by attending the G20 summit, despite the
storm surrounding Khashoggi’s death still raging.
But the prince is not out of the woods yet. The kingdom, eager to project itself as a
regional and world power, has suffered significant damage to its reputation which will
take time and hard work to repair.
Just how hard depends on whether the US Congress decides to sanction Riyadh, if
the Europeans will follow suit, and on Turkey successfully pushing for an
international investigation into the killing.
Tur kish Pr esident R ec ep Tayyi p Erdogan wal king past Princ e M ohammed before the G20 summit famil y photo. Photo: Reuters
“We have never seen Khashoggi’s murder as a political issue,” Erdogan told a news
conference in Buenos Aires. “For Turkey, the incident is and will remain a flagrant
murder within the Islamic world. International public opinion will not be satisfied until
all those responsible for his death are revealed.”
He described Saudi Arabia’s response to the killing as “unbelievable”.
The US Senate, meanwhile, pushed forward last week – despite opposition from
Trump – with a resolution that would end American military support for the Saudi-led
war in Yemen, a conflict which has cause a major humanitarian crisis.
Yemenis queui ng up to get their dail y bread rations from a food aid distri buti on c entre i n Sanaa, Yemen, on November 28, 2018. Photo: Xi nhua
Prince Mohammed’s case was not helped by the leak of a CIA report saying he sent
11 messages to Saud al-Qahtani – a former close aide – at the time Khashoggi was
killed. However, the intelligence agency admitted it lacked direct evidence of the
crown prince “issuing a kill order”.
Qahtani has been accused of overseeing the killing and been fired from his position
as Mohammed’s adviser and information tsar. He has also been sanctioned by
Washington.
The CIA claims Prince Mohammed told associates in August 2017 they “could
possibly lure [Khashoggi] outside Saudi Arabia and make arrangements” if
the Washington Post columnist refused to return to the kingdom from the US.
Mohammed wi th President Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua/AP
Nevertheless, the G20 summit suggests Prince Mohammed and the kingdom may
have taken their first step towards putting the Khashoggi affair behind them. Even if
US lawmakers slap sanctions on the kingdom, the prince is likely to remain secure in
his position as king-in-waiting.
Keeping Khashoggi in the headlines will prove increasingly difficult as it seems much
of the world has signalled that it is moving on.
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James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International

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ROYAL ROAD AHEAD: SAUDI PRINCE

LEAVES G20 CONFIDENT, TURNING

During an informal conversation on the sidelines of the summit, French President

He described Saudi Arabia’s response to the killing as “unbelievable”.

Mohammed wi th President Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua/AP

China’s l oss i n Tr ump’s trade war is Asean’s gai n. Look at Vi etnam

A year after siege, Philippines’ M arawi lies i n r uins

James M. Dorsey is a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International

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