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BRATISLAVA: French President Emmanuel Macron on Jamal Khashoggi, saying such calls were "pure demagoguery".
Sales of weapons to Riyadh – France's second biggest customer after India – have "nothing to do with Mr Khashoggi. One should not mix everything up, "Macron told a press conference during a visit to Bratislava.
"I greatly admire those who, even before they know anything, say 'We will not sell any more weapons' !," the French leader said in an apparent reference to Germany.
"They are doing more than France thanks to their joint ventures," he added.
The remark was interpreted as a rare veiled criticism of France's closest European ally after German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a freeze on arms sales in Riyadh over the dissident's murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Merkel confirmed her position during a visit to Prague on Friday.
"We need to clarify the background of this horrible crime and we will not supply weapons to Saudi Arabia," she said.
She also called to Saudi Arabia to help the devastating humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which Riyadh has been pummeling with air strikes since 2015.
"We shall be able to take steps in the future," she added.
EU seal stance?
Macron means that there is no moral connection to the death of Khashoggi at the beginning of this month and Saudi Arabia's purchase of French-made weapons.
"What is the link between arms sales and Mr. Khashoggi?" He said, calling it "pure demagoguery to call for a halt" to exports over the killing.
"I can understand the link with Yemen, but there is not any with Mr. Khashoggi. If we want to take sanctions, we must do so across the board. In that case, we should stop selling cars, "he told reporters – another possible dig at Germany, a massive auto exporter.
Otherwise "we should take individual sanctions against those responsible", Macron suggests.
The French president defended close Western ties with Riyadh as crucial in a range of areas, from the fight against the Islamic State activist group to the oil supplies from the Opec producer.
"There is strong cooperation with most Western countries, with military relations, which are clear and totally transparent," Macron said.
He said he was "waiting for the facts to be clearly established and for those responsible"
Sanctions should come as "a European response" and be "clear and coherent … in all domains", the French leader said.
After India, Saudi Arabia was the second-largest purchaser of French weapons between 2008 and 2017, with deals amounting to some 12 billion euros (US $ 13.8 billion).
Germany meanwhile last month approved 416 million euros worth of arms exports to Riyadh for 2018. In the past, its military exports have mostly consisted of patrol boats.
Germany's Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, close Merkel ally, has called for European nations to take a joint stance on whether to halt arms exports.
"There will not be any positive effects, only we will fill the gap," he warned earlier this week.
"Only when all European nations are in agreement will this make an impression on Riyadh."
German weekly Der Spiegel reported Friday that the differences between Berlin and Paris over the issue of a joint venture to develop a joint fighter jet.
France wants the plane to be fully exportable – "in the news".
Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl meanwhile suggested to join the brutal Yemeni conflict to an end.
Austria has exported to Saudi Arabia since it began its bombing campaign, she said.
Aimed at the end of the day, "she told Germany's Die Welt newspaper.
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