MOSCOW – Quelling rumours about his ‘killing’ in an attempted coup, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will make his first foreign tour since his dubious disappearance when he will travel to Russia next week to attend the opening ceremony of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
A Russian journalist in his story claimed that the 32-year-old prince is alive and will meet President Putin, who is keen to strengthen ties with the Islamic Kingdom “as he “balances” Iran in the Mideast and seeks to guarantee Saudi support for the Russian peace plan in Syria”.
Another Russian media outlet citing Director of the of the Crown Prince’s Private Office Bader al-Asaker said that the Saudi prince also known as MBS will visit Moscow on June 14.
“Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman will attend the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Russia,” Asaker wrote on his Facebook page.
MBS Assassination Saga
The rumoured assassination of Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman had set the tongues wagging a few weeks ago after Russian and Iranian media speculated about the possible death of 32-year-old during a coup attempt.
The rumours were sparked once again earlier this month after a chilling photo went viran the internet allegedly showing MBS (Mohammed bin Salman) being taken for performing his last rituals. The picture shows Saudi bigwigs including Saudi King Salman ‘carrying’ his son.
Another photo was uploaded on the social media showing a ‘dead’ Saudi royal, stirring concerns that the state’s number two might actually have been killed during the rumoured coup attempt, termed drone scare by the Saudi media in April.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/has-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-actually-been-assassinated-viral-photo-sparks-suspicions/
However, to quash the rumours, the royal family of Saudi Arabia has released an official video on Wednesday which shows Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman attending a summit.
The video apparently shows Salman greeting Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi in Jeddah to discuss the ongoing Yemen crisis as reported earlier on Al-Arabiya.
https://twitter.com/Badermasaker/status/1001975881592647681
Besides the video, another picture has also been provided to the media showing the aspiring Saudi King chairing a meeting of officials.
With the surfacing of the official video, it stands clear that the photos showing a ‘dead’ MBS were doctored.
In original, the photo showing King Salman and other Saudi royals carrying a deceased on their shoulders belongs to the funeral of former King of hydrocarbon-rich Kingdom, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who breathed his last on January 23, 2015.
2018 FIFA World Cup
Russian is set to host the FIFA World Cup for the first time and it will be held between June 14 and July 15, 2018, in 11 Russian cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.
Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay will make up Group A, while Group B will include Portugal, Spain, Iran and Morocco. Group C is going to consist of France, Australia, Peru and Denmark, while Group D will be Argentina, Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria. Group E will be composed of Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia. Group F has Germany, Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, while Group G will encompass Belgium, Panama, Tunisia and England. Finally, Group H has Poland, Colombia, Senegal and Japan.
