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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met on Tuesday in Riyadh with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the disappearance and alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
President Donald Trump has sent Pompeo to Saudi Arabia, where he has dinner with the Crown Prince, the country's presumed leader, who has pledged to modernize the kingdom while overseeing the widespread crackdown on dissent.
Pompeo 's visit to Riyadh took place while Turkish investigators raided the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, taking soil samples and bricks on the scene, according to a Turkish individual aware of the situation. investigation. Khashoggi, a longtime Saudi insider who left the kingdom last year and began writing critical articles of the powerful Crown Prince of the Washington Post, disappeared earlier this month after entering the consulate.
Addressing the Secretary of State, the Crown Prince said: "We are powerful and ancient allies, so we must meet our challenges together: the past, the day of tomorrow."
"Absolutely," replied Pompeo.
Heather Nauert, State Department spokeswoman, said Pompeo had thanked King Salman for "his commitment to support a thorough, transparent and swift investigation into the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi".
While Pompeo was meeting with members of Saudi royalty, reports circulated that the Saudi government was discussing a plan to admit that Khashoggi was killed after entering Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on 2 August. October.
The Saudis are preparing an explanation that would absolve Ben Salman of any responsibility by giving him a credible refusal to say he did not order the murder and that he was unaware, NBC said Monday. News two people aware of the situation.
One of the two said that relatives of the Saudi leadership had told him that the kingdom would claim that dishonest agents had killed Khashoggi during an interrogation or rendition attempt that was terribly painful. turned.
A third person said that the US government still did not know exactly what explanation the Saudis were considering giving, but that they intended to admit "guilt".
The possibility of a change of Saudi explanation should be discussed directly with Pompeo.
Pompeo's visit to Riyadh took place as international pressure on Saudi Arabia to reveal what she knew about Khashoggi's disappearance was increasingly pressing.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday called on Saudi Arabia and Turkey to reveal all the information she has about the missing journalist. She also said that immunity should be lifted in the premises and diplomatic officials.
On Sunday, Trump spoke on the phone with King Salman. The next day, the president tweeted that the king had denied knowing about Khashoggi's whereabouts.
Moments later, he told reporters that the conversation with the king had seemed to him "as if these murderers could be thugs – who knows?"
