Saudi Arabia given ‘more time’ in Khashoggi probe

THE United States gave Saudi Arabia more time to investigate the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi as Turkish investigators searched Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul for a second time in a hunt for clues.

US President Donald Trump met for less than an hour with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who gave the president an update on his talks this week with Saudi and Turkish officials about the Khashoggi case amid concern that the journalist was killed in the consulate after entering it on October 2.

Pompeo said he made clear to the Saudis that “we take this matter with respect to Mr Khashoggi very seriously.”

“They made clear to me that they too understand the serious nature of the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi. They also assured me that they will conduct a complete, thorough investigation of all of the facts surrounding Mr Khashoggi and that they will do so in a timely fashion,” Pompeo added.

Pompeo said he told Trump that “we ought to give them a few more days to complete” their investigation in order to get a full understanding of what happened “at which point we can make decisions about how — or if — the United States should respond to the incident surrounding Mr Khashoggi.”

“I think it’s important for us all to remember to, we have a long — since 1932 — a long strategic relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Pompeo added.

Turkey has said it believes Khashoggi was murdered at the consulate and his body chopped up and removed. Turkish investigators left the Saudi consulate in Istanbul yesterday after searching the building and consular vehicles. They used bright lights to illuminate the garden. Earlier, they spent nearly nine hours in the Saudi consul’s residence.