SAUDI BACKFLIP ON KHASHOGGI
SAUDI Arabia is preparing to acknowledge the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a botched interrogation, CNN and the New York Times said, after US President Donald Trump speculated “rogue killers” may be responsible.
Mr Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet King Salman over the case that has strained the Americans’ relationship with the Saudis, which has been carefully cultivated by the US president.
Khashoggi, a US resident, Washington Post columnist and leading critic of the powerful Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago to get marriage documents.
Turkish officials say they believe he was murdered there and his body removed.
Citing two unidentified sources, CNN yesterday reported that Saudi Arabia is preparing a report that would acknowledge Khashoggi was killed as the result of an interrogation that went wrong.
The Saudi government could not be reached for comment on the CNN report.
“I heard that report, but nobody knows if it’s an official re- port,” Mr Trump told reporters, without elaborating.
The New York Times, citing a person familiar with the Saudi plans, reported the crown prince had approved interrogating or forcing Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi government, it said, would shield the prince by blaming an intelligence official for the bungled operation.
The case has provoked an international outcry against Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, with more media and business executives pull- ing out of a planned investment conference there this month. While organisers said the conference would go on, the Saudis cancelled an annual diplomatic reception in Washington set for later this week.
Many members of the US Congress have criticised the kingdom over the case.
Turkish authorities have an audio recording indicating that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, a Turkish official and a security source said, and have shared evidence with countries including Saudi Ara- bia and the US. They provided no further details.
Saudi Arabia has strongly denied killing Khashoggi and has denounced such assertions as “lies,” saying he left the building shortly after entering.
“The king firmly denied any knowledge of it,” Mr Trump said after speaking with King Salman.
“He didn’t really know, maybe – I don’t want to get into his mind but it sounded to me – maybe these could have been rogue killers. Who knows?”