Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov discusses how the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has been re-embraced on the world stage, four years after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi
Over the last few months, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has met a string of world leaders, including Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As the Guardian’s Middle East correspondent, Martin Chulov, explains, it signals a remarkable return to the global stage for the kingdom’s de facto ruler.
Four years ago, the brutal assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi stunned the world. It cast a long shadow over Prince Salman who the CIA later concluded had ordered the killing. In 2020, while running for president, Biden described Saudi Arabia as a “pariah”.
But the war in Ukraine and subsequent rise in energy prices have drastically changed leaders’ priorities when dealing with the oil-rich nation, and the young crown prince who leads it.
