Buenos Aires| This weekend’s Group of 20 summit may have delivered little of substance on trade, climate change or immigration. But at least for embattled…
Buenos Aires| This weekend’s Group of 20 summit may have delivered little of substance on trade, climate change or immigration. But at least for embattled Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the meeting of the world’s most powerful leaders was a smashing success.
The crown prince flew into the Argentine capital on Wednesday under a heavy cloud — in the midst of a global furor over the brutal killing of one of his most prominent critics, U. S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate Oct. 2 – predictions were rife that he would be a pariah among his peers.
To make matters worse, the New York-based Human Rights Watch had gotten an Argentine judge to investigate the de facto ruler of the oil-rich country over his alleged involvement in the Khashoggi murder — a hypothesis backed by a CIA report — and what the group called “apparent war crimes” in Yemen .
But that criminal complaint quickly fizzled out after Argentine authorities hastened to underline the prince’s “special immunity,” while G20 leaders from Russia’s Vladimir Putin to France’s Emmanuel Macron made it clear they were still willing to do business — literally and figuratively — with crown prince Mohammed each time he ventured outside Riyadh’s embassy in the Argentine capital.
The French president was captured on video distributing what sounded like fatherly counsel and tough love, telling the 33-year-old crown prince that “I am worried” and “You never listen to me.” Perhaps conscious of the possible public reaction, though, Mr. Macron then continued his conversation at an angle less friendly to the camera.
Other leaders, including Argentine President and summit host Mauricio Macri, made even less effort to conceal their priorities when it comes to the Saudis.
