An expert on international affairs at the Institute for Policy Studies in Paris, Nicolas Tensar, asks in an article in the French magazine "Slite" whether the West still considers Saudi Arabia a real ally despite the actions of its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
He said that the alliance that Saudi Arabia is trying to establish with the authoritarian regimes in the Middle East with the aim of eliminating the "Arab Spring" poses a direct threat to the security of Europe and will only serve the interest of "terrorist" groups.
Many observers saw the Bin Salman reform project as a "naive" vision, while many Western countries saw it as a "liberal turning point" for the kingdom, believing that Saudi Arabia was a trusted ally.
turning point
Until April, leaders in the West continued to deal with the ambitious crown prince's scheme of "innocent accused until proven guilty" until they saw the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The writer pointed out that the killing of Khashoggi caused the opening of other files of Mohammed bin Salman, most notably the war crimes committed by the Kingdom in Yemen, and the policy of internal repression that caused the imprisonment of many men and women in Saudi Arabia, such as blogger Raif Badawi, in addition to the arrest of Saudi women and subjected to torture .
He pointed out that the leaders of the Western world have recently begun to understand that the massacres committed against Yemeni civilians are not in the interest of achieving stability in the region, pointing out that America and European countries have expressed their shock at these massacres and the policy of starvation pursued by Riyadh and threaten the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
just talk
He said that all of this prompted Washington and the European Union to act finally and demand that Riyadh stop its aggression on Yemen, but these claims were not echoed on the battlefield, where the bombing continues without interruption, but reinforced with the imposition of the blockade on the port of Hodeidah, which is of great importance Provide Yemenis with food and medical assistance.
He called on the United States and key European countries to speak with Saudi Arabia on the issue of fundamental rights and the Yemeni file.
He added that it seems that the recent statements by US President Donald Trump are not the opposite of Washington's sudden abandonment of the defense of human rights, but of its failure to intervene, leaving the door open to the spread of tyrannical regimes throughout the world.
Tensar also called for the West to convince Riyadh that it is fighting a losing war in Yemen and that its continued intervention will only benefit the "terrorist" groups, especially Al-Qaeda and the West.