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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned against "exploiting" the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi for political purposes, as part of an apparently veiled attack on Turkey.
Turkey's relations with Saudi Arabia have been strained since last October's brutal killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, which tarnished the Crown Prince's international reputation.
Turkish officials were the first to report the killing and continued to press Saudi Arabia for information on the location of its dismembered body, which has not yet been found.
"The death of Jamal Khashoggi is a very painful crime," Prince Mohammed told pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in an interview published Sunday.
"Any party politically exploiting the case must stop doing so and present evidence to the (Saudi) court, which will help bring justice," he added, without naming Turkey directly.
The prince added, however, that he wanted close relations with "all Islamic countries, including Turkey".
The CIA reportedly stated that the badbadination was probably ordered by Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler and heir to the most powerful throne of the Arab world.
The Saudi authorities firmly deny the allegation.
Saudi prosecutors absolved the prince and said that about 20 people involved in the murder were in detention and that the death penalty was being sought against five men.
Khashoggi, an American resident, had written about Prince Mohammed critically and had been killed in what Riyadh described as rogue operation.
Prince Mohammed declared that the kingdom was resolved to "deliver justice and accountability" in this case, as he faces international pressure to punish the guilty.
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