The French president appeared smiling but stern towards the Saudi crown prince on the sidelines of the leaders’ summit in Argentina, but internet lip-readers are trying to decipher every word.
One might have expected a less than royal reception for Mohammed bin Salman, as the de-facto ruler in Riyadh remains embroiled in accusations over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.
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Instead he appears to be treated as the naughty little brother, receiving a high-five from Vladimir Putin and what seemed like friendly admonishment from Macron on Friday night, in full view of a journalist's camera.
While not all of the English-language conversation appears audible, several journalists have put in the legwork to produce a transcript.
Highlights include Macron's faux-exasperated "You never listen" ("I will listen, of course" a slightly sheepish MBS allegedly replies) and the crown prince vowing that he is a "man of his word."
To stop the growing rumors about the context of these implicitly understood sentiments, the Elysee Palace claimed that the French president was issuing the crown prince with a "very firm" warning over not just Khashoggi, but also the continuing humanitarian crisis in Yemen. With the latter conflict evolving for more than three years, one wonders if in the past Macron hasn't been firm enough, or maybe the Saudi prince isn't quite as honorable as he claims.
There were other unofficial suggestions put forward – perhaps less accurate, but more to the point.
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