German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he also raised the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Scholz said all issues related to civil and human rights were discussed.
The chancellor spoke in the Saudi port city of Jeddah with Bin Salman, the man blamed for the murder of Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Bin Salman claims he had nothing to do with the assassination, but Western countries believe he ordered it.
Scholz is traveling this weekend with a group of top business executives in the Middle East, trying to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar. That gas could serve as an alternative to Russian gas.