Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman put his best foot forward on Tuesday in announcing that the kingdom would be upping its support for the Paris climate accord, while at the same time the CIA was briefing senators on his likely role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi Energy Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih conveyed the crown prince’s support for strengthening the oil-rich kingdom’s commitment upon arriving at the United Nations climate meeting in Katowice, Poland, according to the Saudi government-run news agency. Al-Falih led the Saudi delegation on behalf of the crown prince and his father, King Salman.
Meanwhile, CIA Director Gina Haspel had just finished up a classified briefing on Tuesday with Congress on the murder of Saudi journalist Khashoggi, where senators emerged saying they were convinced that crown prince Mohammed was behind the October killing in Turkey.
[Read more: Graham suggests Trump ‘willfully blind’ by ignoring Saudi crown prince’s role in Khashoggi murder]
There is no public response, yet, from Saudi Arabia on what Haspel told the senators. Instead, the Saudis focused on the U.N. climate meeting in Poland.
“The Minister conveyed greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince to the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda, and anticipation to strengthen bilateral cooperation for the benefit of the two countries, wishes for the success of the conference and commitment of the Kingdom to work for making it a success,” the Saudi Press Agency reported from the U.N. COP24 climate meeting.
The Saudi energy minister said that the objectives of the conference are focused on the “full implementation” of the Paris accord, according to the Saudi government news service.
Al-Falih relayed the country’s commitment in a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying Saudi Arabia would be strengthening its climate change goals under Paris.
The statement comes after a senior White House official told reporters on a call at the G-20 meeting over the weekend that the coalition in support of the Paris deal was “fraying.”
The White House official said Saudi Arabia, Russia, and some others had showed some resistance for the climate deal in drafting the G-20 joint communique, which affirmed Trump’s decision to exit the global warming agreement.
