US to ‘hold Khashoggi killers accountable’
SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday the US will hold accountable all those involved in the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist, in a telephone call that also took in the conflict in Yemen.
The killing of Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul and the war in Yemen, which has pushed the country to the brink of famine, are two of the main sources of strain in the decades-old alliance between Washington and Riyadh.
Prince Mohammed is controversially linked to both: he has played a direct role in overseeing Saudi Arabia’s Yemen intervention and has also been accused of orchestrating the October 2 murder of Khashoggi, who was a US resident.
“The Secretary emphasised that the US will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
The top US diplomat has previously said Khashoggi’s killing “violates the norms of international law,” and that the US was reviewing possible sanctions on individuals identified as having been involved.
But Pompeo and US President Donald Trump have also both emphasised the US’s important commercial, strategic and national security relationships with the petro-state.
Upping the pressure on Saudi Arabia, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Turkey had shared recordings related to Khashoggi’s murder with Riyadh, Washington and other capitals.
After repeated denials, Saudi Arabia finally admitted the 59year-old journalist had been murdered at its diplomatic mission in what it termed a “rogue” operation.
Reduced US role in Yemen
Ankara has been demanding, to date without success, the extradition of those involved in the killing.
Khashoggi was critical of Prince Mohammed and the country’s intervention in Yemen, said Nauert.
Pompeo “reiterated the US’ calls for a cessation of hos- tilities and for all parties to come to the table to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict,” she said.
Pompeo has previously called for an end to the fighting in the impoverished Arab state, saying that Shiite Huthi rebels must stop missile and drone strikes from areas they control, and that the Saudi-led coalition must subsequently halt strikes in populated areas.
Pompeo’s latest remarks come just days after the announcement of the end of a controversial refuelling arrangement between the US and the Saudi-led coalition carrying out strikes in Yemen – a step that lessens US involvement in the war.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said he supported Saudi Ara- bia’s decision after the official Saudi Press Agency said the coalition asked for the “cessation of inflight refuelling support” from the US.
The end of the arrangement comes amid ongoing international outcry over Saudi actions in Yemen, particularly after a string of high-profile coalition strikes that have killed scores of civilians, many of them children.
The Pentagon had provided refuelling capabilities for about 20 per cent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen, supporting an intervention led by Riyadh to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government in the face of an insurgency by the Huthis – a conflict that has left nearly 10,000 people dead.