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The crown prince is expected to be on a panel at the forum
The Saudi Crown Prince is expected to speak at a business forum in Riyadh and will be eagerly awaited for comments on the murder of writer Jamal Khashoggi.
Mohammed bin Salman is on the list of "main speakers", but we still do not know whether he will attend the conference or comment directly.
The Saudis deny that he played a role in the killing, but President Trump said he assumed the ultimate responsibility as "directing the situation there."
Khashoggi died after a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd.
The Saudi government blamed the killing on dishonest agents.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the journalist had been the victim of a "political assassination" carefully planned by intelligence officials and other Saudi officials.
Has Mohammed bin Salman said anything so far?
Yes. He granted Bloomberg an interview published on October 5, three days after the consulate's visit.
He said he had "heard rumors about what had happened".
He added, "If I understood correctly, he came in and he came out after a few minutes or an hour, I'm not sure."
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The Saudi Crown Prince met Khashoggi's son Salah on Tuesday in Riyadh
The crown prince said the Saudis would allow the Turkish government to search the area because "we have nothing to hide".
He has not said anything directly since.
What will happen on the forum?
The Crown Prince must be part of a panel with Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate, Saad Hariri.
- Is this the end of the Saudi prince's honeymoon?
- The journalist who disappeared in a consulate
The three-day conference, dubbed "Future Investment Initiative" but nicknamed "Davos in the desert" after the Swiss forum, is important for the Saudis but has already been boycotted by many Western business leaders and politicians. following the Khashoggi case.
The Saudis tried to act as if nothing had happened during the forum, although Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih acknowledged Tuesday that there was a "crisis" about Khashoggi's question.
The Crown Prince made an appearance Tuesday but spoke little.
After joining his father, King Salman, he attended meetings with members of the Khashoggi family.
Change of mood
Sebastian Usher of the BBC in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia has a growing sense that it is not a storm that can simply be overcome until it is over.
Unsuccessful public relations attempts by Saudis, such as the King and the Crown Prince meeting Khashoggi's son on Tuesday, only exacerbate the situation.
Crisis meetings were organized by the royal family to decide how far they must go to satisfy the international climate of disgust. But there seems to be little prospect of dramatic change at the top.
The atmosphere among foreign investors has become significantly cloudier. An American investor who was hitting the drum with enthusiasm for Crown Prince Tuesday was a different man this morning as he rushed to an urgent meeting to discuss a multi-billion dollar project.
What is the last of the survey?
The key question is the body, for which there is still no sign.
The most recent emphasis seems to be on a well located in the garden of the Saudi Consulate building.
As in the course of much of the investigation, conflicting reports have been reported. The Anadolu agency initially reported that the Saudis had refused permission to search, but that the broadcaster NTV later said that permission was given.
On Tuesday, there had been conflicting information as to whether Khashoggi's property had been found in suitcases on board a Saudi diplomatic car.
Erdogan said Turkey had irrefutable evidence of the journalist's murder in a premeditated and "savage" killing and asked that the suspects be tried in Istanbul.
What is Donald Trump's line?
The Wall Street Journal has published what appears to be his harshest criticism of the Saudi government to date.
Asked about his responsibilities, Mr. Trump said, "Well, the prince is leading things over there at this point, he's directing things and if anybody wants to do it, it would be him. "
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The president said that he wanted to believe the Crown Prince's statement that lower-ranking officials were to blame.
Previously, he had stated: "They had a very bad original concept, it was poorly executed and the concealment was the worst of the history of cover-ups.
"Anyone who has thought of this idea, I think it's a big problem, and they should be too."
The United States vowed to revoke the visas of those allegedly responsible for the assassination of Khashoggi (Saudi Arabia said 18 Saudi nationals had been arrested), but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the sentence would not stop there.
Have others followed suit?
Yes, Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said that anyone suspected of being involved in the murder would be prevented from entering the country.
- Saudi suspects excluded from UK
Mr. Erdogan reiterated that he was "determined not to allow any concealment of this murder and to all those responsible, those who gave order to those who executed him, not to escape justice ".
France said Wednesday that it would take "punitive measures" if Saudi Arabia was "proven" to be responsible.
How has Saudi history changed?
First of all, Saudi Arabia stated that Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the government, had left the building alive, and that he had been killed during a "brawl." "inside the consulate.
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He finally said that Khashoggi had been murdered as part of a "rogue operation" whose rulers had not been informed.
An anonymous Saudi official told the Reuters news agency on Sunday that Khashoggi had died after he resisted any attempt to send him back to Saudi Arabia.
His body was then rolled in a carpet and entrusted to a local "cooperator", said the manager.
- How the Saudis changed the history of Khashoggi
