Saudis promise ‘full’ Khashoggi inquiry

Saudi Arabia has promised a “full” investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US defence secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday following talks with Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir in Bahrain.

“We discussed ... the need of transparency, full and complete investigation. Full agreement from FM Jubeir, no reservations at all,” Mattis told reporters following the talks, during which he warned the Saudi kingdom that the murder attributed to the Saudi authorities risked destabilising the region.

“No reservations at all. He [Jubeir] said we need to know what happened and it was very collaborative, in agreement,” the Pentagon chief told reporters on a flight from Manama to Prague, where he will mark the centenary of Czechoslovakia.

Saudi journalist Khashoggi, who criticised the kingdom’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, lived in self-imposed exile in the US since 2017. He was murdered after entering his country’s Istanbul consulate on October 2. Gruesome reports have alleged that he was killed and dismembered by a team sent from Saudi Arabia to silence him.

After weeks of denials, Riyadh has sought to draw a line under the crisis with an investigation. Prince Mohammed publicly denounced the murder as “repulsive”, while the Saudi prosecutor acknowledged for the first time last week that the killing had been “premeditated”.

But Riyadh on Saturday dismissed Ankara’s calls to extradite 18 Saudis being held over Khashoggi’s murder, as Washington warned the crisis risked destabilising the Middle East.

Addressing a forum in Manama on Saturday, Mattis warned that “the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all greatly”.

“Failure of any nation to adhere to international norms and the rule of law undermines regional stability at a time when it is needed most,” he stressed.

The murder, which has tarnished the image of Crown Prince Mohammed, has sparked a wave of international criticism and affected Washington’s relations with the kingdom.

Mattis did not have a formal bilateral meeting with Jubeir on the sidelines of the Manama forum, where he met several Arab and European leaders. The two men spoke at a dinner for all the ministers.

MATTIS WARNED THE SAUDI KINGDOM THAT THE MURDER ATTRIBUTED TO THE SAUDI AUTHORITIES RISKED DESTABILISING THE REGION