‘We expect transparency from Saudi Arabia about the circumstances of his death’

ISTANBUL: US President Donald Trump joined European leaders on Saturday in pushing Saudi Arabia for more answers about Jamal Khashoggi after Riyadh changed its story and acknowledged that the journalist died more than two weeks ago at its consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia said early on Saturday that Khashoggi, a critic of the country’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed-bin-Salman, had died in a fight inside the building.

Germany called that explanation "inadequate" and questioned whether countries should sell arms to Saudi Arabia, while France and the European Union urged an in-depth investigation to find out what happened to the Washington Post columnist after he entered the consulate on Oct 2 for documents for his marriage.

Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a Saudi national and US resident, was killed inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents and his body cut up. The Khashoggi case has caused international outrage and frayed political and business ties between Western powers and US ally Saudi Arabia, the world’s No 1 oil exporter.

Asked during a trip to Nevada if he was satisfied that Saudi officials had been fired over Khashoggi’s death, Trump said: "No, I am not satisfied until we find the answer. But it was a big first step, it was a good first step. But I want to get to the answer.

"In an interview with the Washington Post, Trump said that "obviously there’s been deception, and there’s been lies. "Trump’s comments about the Khashoggi incident in recent days have ranged from threatening Saudi Arabia with "very severe" consequences and warning of economic sanctions, to more conciliatory remarks in which he has played up the country’s role as a US ally against Iran and Islamist militants, as well as a major purchaser of US arms.

He had earlier called the Saudi narrative of what happened to Khashoggi credible. Riyadh provided no evidence on Saturday to support its account and made no mention of what had become of Khashoggi’s body.

As Saudi Arabia faced intensifying international scepticism over its story, a senior Saudi official laid out a new version of the death in which a team of 15 Saudi nationals sent to confront Khashoggi had threatened him with being drugged and kidnapped and then killed him in a chokehold when he resisted.

A member of the team then dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for a full investigation into the killing and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a joint statement with her foreign minister, said the Saudi account was not enough.

"We expect transparency from Saudi Arabia about the circumstances of his death ...The information available about events in the Istanbul consulate is inadequate," the Germans said. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called into question the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.

Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Riyadh’s explanations lacked consistency and credibility. Trump said it was possible that Prince Mohammed had been unaware of the circumstances around the death of Khashoggi, 59.For Western allies, a main question will be whether they believe that the prince, who has painted himself as a reformer, has any culpability. King Salman, 82, had handed the day-to-day running of Saudi Arabia to him.

Trump, who has forged close ties with Saudi Arabia and the crown prince, said he was concerned that it was unclear where the journalist’s body is.

According to the senior Saudi official, the Saudi team rolled up Khashoggi’s body in a rug, took it out in a consular vehicle and handed it to a "local cooperator" for disposal. One of the operatives then donned Khashoggi’s clothes, eyeglasses and Apple watch and left through the back door of the consulate in an attempt to make it look like Khashoggi had walked out of the building, the senior Saudi official said.

Turkish investigators are likely to find out what happened to the corpse "before long", a senior Turkish official said earlier on Saturday. Officials told Reuters in Turkey on Thursday that Khashoggi’s remains may have been dumped in Belgrad Forest adjacent to Istanbul, and at a rural location near the city of Yalova, 90 km south of Istanbul,Turkish sources say the authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting Khashoggi’s murder inside the consulate.