Latest News: Rubio says to reevaluate ties if a Saudi killed a writer


[ad_1]

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Latest news on the disappearance of a Saudi writer whose Turkish officials fear to have been killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul (every hour local):

9:10 p.m.

A member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee said that US-Saudi relations may have to "be completely overhauled" if an investigation revealed that the kingdom's government was responsible for the murder of Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

Republican Marco Rubio of Florida said it included the multi-billion dollar deal that President Donald Trump wants to preserve.

Rubio told CBS, "Face the Nation," that "we will never be able to defend human rights anywhere in the world, if we allow a situation like this to go from one place to another. before we did not do anything about it. "

The senator calls Saudi Arabia "a lever and an essential haven against the Iranian influence in the region".

But, he adds, "can not replace our commitment to human rights".

If the Saudis are involved, Rubio says there would be no pro-Saudi contingent in Congress "this will remain true to our relationship with Saudi Arabia as it is currently structured."

___

8:20 p.m.

According to a senior US Senator, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is not expected to attend a major investment conference in Saudi Arabia at the end of the month following announcements that US journalist and resident Jamal Khashoggi was reportedly killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

Florida Republican Marco Rubio told CNN's "State of the Union" that he did not think any US government official should pretend to continue as if of nothing was, until we knew exactly what happened here. "

But White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the conference would deal with the financing of terrorism and how to stop it, and that "for now," Mnuchin intends to To go there.

Kudlow told ABC's "This Week" that Mnuchin "will make up his mind as the week progresses and new information surfaces" and the investigation continues.

___

7:50 p.m.

A White House official said President Donald Trump was serious in saying he would be severely punished if Saudi Arabia became complicit in the disappearance of American journalist and journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that when Trump "warns, people should take his word for it." Kudlow does not say what Trump could do, but says that Trump "will decide appropriate actions".

The Saudis themselves warn that they will react to any "threat" against the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia is the largest oil exporter in the world. Kudlow was asked in "Fox News Sunday" whether a Saudi response could affect energy prices.

Kudlow calls the United States "the biggest player in energy, so we're pretty good, in my opinion, thanks to our energy boom that allows us to cover all the shortages."

Khashoggi has not been seen since entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2nd.

___

7:10 p.m.

Germany, France and Britain are calling for a "credible investigation" to establish what happened to Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi and seek a "complete and detailed" Saudi response.

Khashoggi disappeared during his visit to the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul. The Turkish authorities fear that Khashoggi will be killed and dismembered, according to accusations that the Saudi authorities would describe as "unfounded".

The German, French and British foreign ministers said Sunday in a joint statement that the defense of freedom of expression and the protection of journalists were key priorities and that they "treated this incident with the most very serious ".

They said a credible investigation should be conducted to establish the truth and identify "where appropriate" those responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance.

"We encourage joint Saudi-Turkish efforts in this regard and expect the Saudi government to provide a comprehensive and detailed response," they added.

___

3:15 p.m.

Saudi Arabia has said it rejects any "threat" of economic sanctions or political pressure after President Donald Trump's comments on the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

The statement issued Sunday by the state-run Saudi news agency also warned that the kingdom would react to any action taken against it.

This statement comes after the fall of nearly 7% of the Saudi stock market Sunday at some point.

The statement did not directly acknowledge the disappearance of Khashoggi, which occurred on October 2 during his visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The Turkish authorities fear that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered. The Saudi authorities describe these allegations as "baseless" but have not provided any evidence that Khashoggi has ever left the consulate.

___

13h

The Saudi stock market fell more than 6.8 percent after President Donald Trump threatened to "severely punish" the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

The decline in the Tadawul exchange in Riyadh took place on Sunday, the first day of trading.

In an interview that will air on Sunday, Trump told CBS's "60 minutes": "We will get to the bottom of things and tough penalties will be imposed."

Turkish officials fear that Saudi agents have killed Khashoggi after he joined the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. The kingdom called the charges "unfounded" but provided no evidence that the author left the consulate.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.

[ad_2]Source link