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Saudi Arabia is questioning whether dishonest members have killed a dissident Saudi journalist, sources close to the case said, a position that would help the royal family to avoid direct responsibility for a case that undermines its relations with the United States.
The provisional explanation of the kingdom echoes President Trump's comments on Monday after talking with Saudi King Salman that "dishonest assassins" may be behind the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, a former royal insider.
It is unclear if and when the Saudi statement will be published, and its content has not been finalized, said people familiar with the subject. Spokesmen for the Saudi government did not respond to the request for comment.
The Turkish authorities claimed that Mr. Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents after he entered the Istanbul consulate on October 2 to deal with paperwork. The Turkish government has communicated to the US authorities what it describes as audio and video recordings intended to show that Mr. Khashoggi was killed in the building, according to people close to the issue.
Saudi Arabia denied the allegations and said that Mr. Khashoggi had left the consulate shortly after his arrival.
Mr Trump said he had a 20-minute phone call Monday morning with King Salman, who had "firmly denied any knowledge" of what had happened to the missing journalist. The president hinted that Saudi agents could have operated without his government's knowledge.
"It seemed to me that these killers could be thugs," said Trump.
The president said he sent state secretary Mike Pompeo to Saudi Arabia – to meet the king – and "if necessary," including Turkey.
"We will leave nothing uncovered," said Trump. The State Department announced on Monday that Trump had called for a "swift and open investigation" into Khashoggi's disappearance.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo leaves the West Wing to speak to reporters after a luncheon with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington on October 9, 2018. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
Photo:
jonathan ernst / reuters
Pompeo left Washington for Riyadh Monday at noon.
Mr Trump also said that King Salman had assured him that Saudi Arabia and Turkey "were working hand in hand, very closely to get to the bottom of things."
King Salman, 82, is the ruler of Saudi Arabia. But his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is in fact the country's daily leader and has overseen a series of recent campaigns targeting suspected dissidents at home and abroad.
Suspicions that Saudi Arabia played a role in the journalist's disappearance have prompted a growing number of Western leaders and advisers to announce their withdrawal from the three-day conference scheduled to begin in Riyadh on 23 October.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s Executive Director, James Dimon, is one of the important leaders to retire. Mr. Dimon had been one of the guest speakers and his bank had long-standing ties with Saudi Arabia and advised him on transactions.
The decision of Mr. Dimon was joined by two other Wall Street titans: Laurence Fink, Managing Director of the world's largest asset manager, BlackRock Inc.; and Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of private equity giant Blackstone Group, according to people familiar with the matter.
Khashoggi's demise undermined relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia and tested the Trump administration's efforts to turn the kingdom into the center of its Middle East policy.
The Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, October 15.
Photo:
France France / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images
Trump's decision to send his secretary of state came as both Saudi Arabia and Turkey sent signals to avoid a direct confrontation over an incident that was causing concern the international community.
Despite their refusal, the Saudi authorities began to act on the evidence provided by Turkey, launching their own investigation to determine whether the kingdom had played a role in the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi, said Monday people close to folder.
The investigation, which was ordered by King Salman, will be conducted by the Saudi Attorney General, announced the people.
The results of the investigation could be announced in the coming days, and some Saudi people would be held responsible for the death of Mr. Khashoggi, said one of the people.
At the same time, the Turkish authorities announced the conclusion of an agreement with Saudi Arabia to search for the missing journalist in the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Turkish television showed a group of investigators entering the building at 19:30. local time, indicating that the inspection would extend late into the night.
Under cover of anonymity, Turkish officials said the police had collected evidence that Khashoggi had been killed and his body dismembered by a 15-member team sent from Riyadh. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not accused the kingdom of his assassination.
The Turkish authorities suspect Crown Prince Mohammed of having participated in the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi because the alleged group of actors killed the journalist.
According to Turkish officials, a team of alleged Saudi assassins was apprehended and reportedly killed a Saudi journalist in Istanbul. The Saudis have denied any involvement, but Jamal Khashoggi has not been seen since entering the Saudi Arabian consulate on October 2nd. Photo: Getty Images
Saudi Arabia initially pledged to open the consulate's gates to the Turkish police several days after Khashoggi's disappearance. Since then, however, Saudi and Turkish officials have explained how Turkish investigators would be allowed to inspect the diplomatic complex.
"We wanted to come up with all the chemicals and equipment used by the investigators to inspect the crime scene," said the official. "The Saudis said we could only have a brief visit."
The official said he expected Monday's search to be done on Turkey's terms and would amount to a full inspection.
A day after Mr. Erdogan spoke about Mr. Khashoggi's disappearance with King Salman. The phone call, during which King Salman thanked the Turkish President for agreeing to form a joint Saudi and Turkish team to investigate what happened, was the first direct contact between the two leaders since the disappearance of the journalist.
Prince Khalid Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, left the United States last week to travel to Riyadh, the US State Department said.
–Summer Said and Margherita Stancati contributed to this article.
Write to Rebecca Ballhaus to [email protected] and David Gauthier-Villars to [email protected]
