EU to use Arab League summit to raise Saudi Arabia concerns

BRUSSELS – European Union leaders plan to use an upcoming Arab League summit to raise concerns with Saudi Arabia about the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the country’s role in the Yemen conflict.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Friday that EU leaders felt “we couldn’t go the EU-Arab League summit in Sharm el-Sheikh in February and not talk about the Khashoggi murder or raise our concerns about it.”

Varadkar said leaders would also raise their concerns about Saudi Arabia’s role in Yemen, where the four-year civil war has left thousands dead and brought the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.

Saudi Arabia is chairing the Arab League. Varadkar suggested some leaders had hesitated about whether to even go ahead with the Feb. 24-25 summit.