French President Emmanuel Macron today warmly welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris.
His decision to host the controversial royal - less than four years after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi - had provoked criticism from rights groups.
The meeting was the latest step in the diplomatic rehabilitation of the de-facto leader of the kingdom who became a pariah in the West following the killing of Mr Khashoggi by Saudi agents inside their Istanbul consulate.
Mr Macron warmly greeted the ruler universally known as MBS ahead of a dinner, with the two men enjoying a warm handshake that they emphasised by using all four hands.
Neither man made any comment but a statement is expected later from the Elysee after the talks.
MBS, seen by supporters as an ambitious and by critics as a tyrant with a ruthless streak, arrived in France following a visit from US President Joe Biden to Riyadh earlier this month.
On his way to France, he stopped in Greece this week, his first trip to the EU since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
His killing was described by a UN probe as an "extrajudicial killing for which Saudi Arabia is responsible".
US intelligence agencies determined that MBS had "approved" the operation that led to Mr Khashoggi's death. Riyadh denies this, blaming rogue operatives.
"I am scandalised and outraged that Emmanuel Macron is receiving with all the honours the executioner of my fiance, Jamal Khashoggi," his widow Hatice Cengiz told AFP on today.
"All the international investigations carried out up to this point... recognise the responsibility of MBS in the assassination," she added.
Amnesty International secretary general Agnes Callamard told AFP she felt "profoundly troubled by the visit, because of what it means for our world and for Jamal (Khashoggi) and people like him."
MBS is a man who "does not tolerate any dissent," she added.
But for Western countries desperate to find new sources of energy, the 36-year-old de facto leader of the world's biggest oil producer has become an essential figure.
The Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine in February sent energy prices soaring, with Western nations scouring the globe to find supplies to replace oil and gas from Russia.
An aide to Macron defended the working dinner at a time of a global energy and food crisis, while promising that human rights would be raised.
"He will talk about it (rights) in a general way, but will also take the chance to raise individual cases," the aide said on condition of anonymity.
