CROWN PRINCE SLAMS MURDER
Prince Mohammed deplores ‘repulsive’ Khashoggi murder
SAUDI Arabia’s crown prince denounced the “repulsive” murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and vowed justice will prevail, in his first public comments on the case, without addressing United States’ accusations of a monumental cover-up.
Speaking at an investment conference here, which ended yesterday, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged there would be “no rupture” in ties with Ankara, after the killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul triggered a diplomatic crisis.
“The incident was very painful for all Saudis. It’s a repulsive incident and no one can justify it,” he said in Arabic, during an address to the Future Investment Initiative forum on Wednesday.
“Those responsible will be held accountable... in the end, justice will prevail.”
The prince, faced with mounting international censure, appeared relaxed as he shared the stage with Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Hariri and Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad.
Three weeks since Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen living in selfimposed exile, disappeared after walking into the consulate to obtain marriage documents, the crisis shows no sign of abating.
Washington, a long-time ally of Riyadh, moved on Tuesday to revoke the visas of several Saudis. Britain followed suit on Wednesday as France said it was ready to back international sanctions against those responsible.
Saudi leaders have denied involvement in Khashoggi’s murder, pushing responsibility down the chain of command.
But Ankara has been holding its own investigation and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the killing was meticulously planned, calling for 18 Saudis detained by Saudi authorities to be tried in Turkey.
Erdogan on Wednesday spoke with Prince Mohammed in their first telephone conversation since the killing, a Turkish presidential source and Saudi state media said.
The two discussed “the issue of joint efforts and the steps that need to be taken to shed light on the Jamal Khashoggi murder”, the source added.
Speaking at the investment forum, Prince Mohammed said: “Many are trying to exploit the Khashoggi affair to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.”
“They will not succeed as long as there is a king named Salman and a crown prince named Mohammed bin Salman.”
The investment conference, nicknamed “Davos in the desert” and aimed at drumming up funds to help Riyadh diversify its oilreliant economy, has been overshadowed by the outcry over Khashoggi’s murder and a string of global business leaders withdrew from the three-day event.
While addressing the forum on Wednesday, the crown prince joked about allegations that Hariri was detained in the kingdom last year, saying he hoped his current visit did not spark “abduction” rumours.
Riyadh’s changing narrative over what happened inside the consulate on Oct 2 has met with deep scepticism abroad.
US President Donald Trump described the killing as “one of the worst in the history of coverups,” and appeared to finger Prince Mohammed in telling the Wall Street Journal: “Well, the prince is running things over there... so if anybody were going to be, it would be him.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said yesterday the murder of Khashoggi was “premeditated” based on information supplied by Turkey, state media reported.
“Information from the Turkish authorities indicates that the act of the suspects in the Khashoggi case was premeditated,” the public prosecutor said in a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
“The public prosecution continues its investigation with suspects... to complete the course of justice.”