London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Jun 20, 2025

Saudi Arabia, Greece to sign energy deal, Crown Prince MBS says

Saudi Arabia, Greece to sign energy deal, Crown Prince MBS says

Saudi’s Mohammed bin Salman is visiting Greece and France on a his first EU visit since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Greece and Saudi Arabia will sign a deal on renewable energy and discuss other investments and security, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) said in a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.

MBS’s visit to Greece on Tuesday is his first to the European Union since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He is also expected to visit France next, state news agency SPA reported.

“We can provide Greece and Southwest Europe through Greece with much cheaper renewable energy and get an MoU [Memorandum of Understanding] signed about that today,” MBS said, sitting alongside Mitsotakis.

MBS, the kingdom’s de facto ruler whose last official visit outside the Middle East was to Japan in 2019 for a G20 summit, was expected discuss bilateral ties and matters of mutual interest, according to SPA.

Greece and Saudi Arabia agreed in May on the main terms to set up a joint venture to build a data cable, the so-called “East to Med Data Corridor”, which will be developed by MENA HUB, owned by Saudi Arabia’s STC and Greek telecoms and satellite applications company TTSA.

A Greek diplomatic source has told Reuters news agency that a deal on the undersea cable along with other agreements in energy and military would be signed.

“We will be signing important agreements and we will have an opportunity to further discuss regional developments,” Mitsotakis said.

Mitsotakis was among Western leaders who have visited Riyadh since the murder of Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was a 59-year-old Saudi-born US resident who wrote columns for the Washington Post critical of MBS and his policies, as well as the Saudi government.

His killing and dismemberment by Saudi agents in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018 brought the powerful crown prince international condemnation, especially in the West, and tainted his image as a reformer pushing to open up Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter.



France’s President Emanuel Macron also visited Riyadh last year and US President Joe Biden met MBS on a trip to Saudi Arabia earlier this month as Washington works to ease tensions with Riyadh.

That move sealed Biden’s retreat from a presidential election campaign pledge to turn the kingdom into a “pariah” for the Khashoggi killing and wider human rights controversies.

US intelligence has implicated the prince in the killing of Khashoggi, a charge the prince and Saudi authorities deny.


Saudi Arabia under pressure for more oil


MBS’s stay in Europe represents a “highly symbolic move past his post-Khashoggi isolation”, said Kristian Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University.

“While there has not been any formal coordination of policy in the ‘West’ against Mohammed bin Salman since 2018, the fact is that he has not visited any European or North American country since Khashoggi’s killing,” Ulrichsen told the AFP news agency.

MBS has also received a recent boost from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Saudi Arabia in April, and then welcomed Crown Prince Mohammed in Ankara in June.

Erdogan had enraged the Saudis by vigorously pursuing the Khashoggi case, opening an investigation and briefing international media about the lurid details of the killing.

But with ties on the mend, an Istanbul court halted the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi suspects linked to Khashoggi’s death, transferring the case to Riyadh in April.




After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a spike in energy prices earlier this year, Saudi Arabia came under pressure from the US and European powers to pump more oil.

Elevated oil prices have been a key factor in inflation in the US soaring to 40-year highs, putting pressure on the Biden administration before midterm elections later this year.

But the world’s biggest crude exporter has resisted pressure to open the supply taps, citing its commitment to production schedules determined by the OPEC+ exporting bloc it co-leads with Russia.

In May, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said the kingdom had done what it could for the oil market.

Last week, France’s President Macron received the new president of the energy-rich United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Paris.

During that trip, officials announced a deal between French energy giant Total Energies and UAE state oil company ADNOC “for cooperation in the area of energy supplies”.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
Energy Infrastructure Becomes War Zone in Middle East
UK Home Secretary Apologizes Over Child Grooming Failures
Trump Organization Launches 5G Mobile Network and Golden Handset
Towcester Hosts 2025 English Greyhound Derby Amid Industry Scrutiny
Gary Oldman and David Beckham Knighted in King's Birthday Honours
Over 30,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded Across UK During Overnight Storms
Princess of Wales Returns to Public Duties at Trooping the Colour
Red Arrows Use Sustainable Fuel in Historic Trooping the Colour Flypast
Former Welsh First Minister Addresses Unionist Concerns Over Irish Language
Iran Signals Openness to Nuclear Negotiations Amid Ongoing Regional Tensions
France Bars Israeli Arms Companies from Paris Defense Expo
King Charles Leads Tribute to Air India Crash Victims at Trooping the Colour
Jack Pitchford Embarks on 200-Mile Walk to Support Stem Cell Charity
Surrey Hikers Take on Challenge of Climbing 11 Peaks in a Single Day
UK Deploys RAF Jets to Middle East Amid Israel-Iran Tensions
Two Skydivers Die in 'Tragic Accident' at Devon Airfield
Sainsbury's and Morrisons Accused of Displaying Prohibited Tobacco Ads
UK Launches National Inquiry into Grooming Gangs
Families Seek Closure After Air India Crash
Gold Emerges as Global Safe Haven Amid Uncertainty
Trump Reports $57 Million Earnings from Crypto Venture
Trump's Military Parade Sparks Concerns Over Authoritarianism
Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Challenge Trump's Leadership
UK Deploys Jets to Middle East Amid Rising Tensions
Trump's Anti-War Stance Tested Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
Germany Holds First Veterans Celebration Since WWII
U.S. Health Secretary Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Exiled Iranian Prince Reza Pahlavi Urges Overthrow of Khamenei Regime
×