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Khashoggi case: US says Saudis back probe in top-level visit

By Agencies
October 17, 2018

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia stood by denials that the kingdom killed a missing journalist but backed a "thorough" probe, the United States said on Tuesday, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo paid a supportive trip to the Gulf state.

The President Donald Trump dispatched the top US diplomat on an urgent mission to Riyadh to defuse a crisis over Jamal Khashoggi, an insider turned critic of the conservative monarchy who was last seen on October 2 when he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to sort out marriage paperwork. The Turkish officials say that Khashoggi, who lived in the United States and contributed to The Washington Post, was killed inside the consulate. Pompeo will speak to the Turkish leaders in Ankara on Wednesday, the two countries said.

Earlier, Pompeo met in Riyadh with the top leadership of Saudi Arabia including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. As Pompeo met the crown prince over dinner, Trump tweeted that he had telephoned and that the 33-year-old heir apparent "totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish consulate". The crown prince "told me that he has already started, and will rapidly expand, a full and complete investigation into this matter. Answers will be forthcoming shortly," Trump wrote. Trump’s remarks contradict reports by CNN and The Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia was weighing admitting the killing but characterising the death as an unintended mistake.

The State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pompeo was “candid and direct” with the Saudi leaders. But there was no palpable tension, with Pompeo full of smiles. “We are strong and old allies. We face our challenges together,” the crown prince told Pompeoto which Pompeo said, “Absolutely.” Meeting King Salman, Pompeo “thanked the king for his commitment to supporting a thorough, transparent and timely investigation of Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance,” Nauert said. But the Saudis have faced intense criticism over the Khashoggi incident, which comes just after US senators nearly succeeded in cutting off support for Riyadh’s air campaign against rebels in Yemen. There have also been sharp words targeting Mohammed bin Salman from US senators on both the Republican and Democratic sides, amid calls for Congress to halt US arms sales to the kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Turkish authorities have stepped up their investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance, with police searching the Saudi consulate for eight hours into Tuesday morning, taking a sample of the garden soil. On Tuesday, Turkish media reported that Saudi Arabia’s consul to Istanbul, Mohammed al-Otaibi, had returned to Riyadh as Turkish authorities prepare to search his residence. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier on Tuesday said toxic material was found which had been “painted over”, but added the investigations continued. A Turkish security official said no conclusive evidence emerged from the overnight search that indicated Khashoggi was killed in the consulate.

“However, there are some findings and they are being worked on,” he said, adding that painting may have damaged some evidence. “These can´t be fully erased after all, so the teams will continue to work on this.