GCC diplomacy takes centre stage
Agencies | Paris
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
High-profile diplomatic engagements involving key Gulf leaders took centre stage yesterday as Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan embarked on separate visits, holding crucial talks with world leaders.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron on pressing issues including Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, and the Russia-Ukrainian war.
Meanwhile, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg, as he said was in favour of “de-escalation” and a “political solution” to the Ukraine conflict.
Political vacuum in Lebanon
Following talks in Paris, Macron and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince called for a “rapid end to the institutional political vacuum in Lebanon.
The absence of a president for eight months “remains the major obstacle to resolving the country’s severe socio-economic crisis”, the French presidency said after the meeting between the two men in Paris.
Lebanese lawmakers on Wednesday failed for a 12th time to elect a new president. Their talks also focused Iraq, Sudan and Russia-Ukrainian war and reiterated their shared commitment to security and stability in the Near and Middle East.
His stay in France appears set to be a long one, with the crown prince due to attend a Paris summit on a New Global Financing Pact hosted by Macron on June 22-23. On Monday, he will also attend an official Saudi reception for Riyadh’s candidacy to host Expo 2030, a bid for which Saudi Arabia wants strong French support.
Emirates “good” partner
The talks by the UAE President with Putin were on the sidelines of an economic summit in Russia’s second city, during which Putin hailed Emirates “a very good partner.” Putin emphasised the UAE’s role in fostering prisoner exchanges and advocating for de-escalation and a political solution in the Ukraine conflict The pair also discussed their countries’ “strategic partnership”, according to the UAE official news agency WAM.
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