Saudi king orders probe in Khashoggi case
ANKARA/WASHINGTON — Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Monday ordered an internal probe into the unexplained disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a joint Turkish-Saudi team was set to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where he was last seen on Oct 2.
A Turkish diplomatic source said investigators were scheduled to inspect the consulate on Monday afternoon, following delays last week when the two countries agreed to work together to find out what happened to Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom’s policies.
The journalist vanished on a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul over a week ago.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia threatened to retaliate for any sanctions imposed against it after US President Donald Trump said the kingdom deserves “severe punishment” if it is responsible for the disappearance and suspected murder of Khashoggi.
The warning from the world’s top oil exporter came after a turbulent day on the Saudi stock exchange, which plunged as much as 7 percent at one point.
The statement was issued as international concern grew over Khashoggi. US lawmakers threatened tough punitive action against the Saudis, and Germany, France and the United Kingdom jointly called for a “credible investigation” into Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Turkish officials have said they fear a Saudi hit team killed and dismembered Khashoggi, who wrote critically of Riyadh. The kingdom has called such allegations “baseless” but has not offered any evidence Khashoggi ever left the consulate.
Already, international business leaders are pulling out of the kingdom’s upcoming investment forum, a high-profile event known as “Davos in the Desert”, and the sell-off on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange showed that investors are uneasy.
In an interview scheduled to air on Sunday, Trump told CBS’ that Saudi Arabia would face strong consequences if it was involved in Khashoggi’s disappearance.
But the president has also said “we would be punishing ourselves” by canceling arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The sales are a “tremendous order for our companies”, and if the Saudis don’t buy their weaponry from the United States, they will get it from others, he said.
In a statement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency, the kingdom warned that if it “receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy”.
Late on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation with Saudi King Salman to discuss the disappearance of Khashoggi, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
During the call, the two leaders emphasized the importance of forming a joint working group to carry out an investigation into the case, the report cited a Turkish presidential source as saying.