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RIYAD, Saudi Arabia – The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, on Wednesday denounced the "heinous crime" against Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident journalist killed in Turkey by Saudi agents. This was his most public attempt to separate from the men suspected of killing Mr. Khashoggi, among whom were some of the Crown Prince's collaborators.
The 33-year-old Crown Prince made these comments during a round table held at a lavish investor conference in Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia, while relations between the Saudi Arabia and Turkey were deteriorating after the October 2 assassination at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul. and as Saudi Arabia's economic and political ties with the West are increasingly under threat.
But Crown Prince Mohammed insisted that Turkey and Saudi Arabia were working together to bring to justice the perpetrators of this assassination.
"The crime was really painful for all the Saudis and I think it is painful for all human beings in the world," he said in Arabic, according to a simultaneous translation. "It's a heinous crime that can not be justified."
A split between Saudi Arabia and Turkey, he added, "will not happen, and we will show the world that the two governments are cooperating to punish any criminal, all guilty and that justice will finally be done."
Some of the Crown Prince's subordinate relatives have been implicated by Turkish officials in the murder of 59-year-old columnist Mr. Khashoggi at the Washington Post.
Western intelligence services said the killers would almost certainly not have acted without the instructions of the Crown Prince, considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi royal authorities have insisted for weeks to say that Mr. Khashoggi had left the consulate of Istanbul the very day of his visit. It was only last Saturday that the Saudis admitted that he had been killed inside the building, describing it as an accident.
Turkish officials said they had evidence that a team of Saudi assassins allegedly killed Mr. Khashoggi a few minutes after he entered the consulate, dismembered his body, and then attempted to conceal it, using even a Saudi agent who looked like Mr. Khashoggi. the consulate wearing the victim's clothes to create a fictional track.
Even President Trump, a close ally of the Saudi royal family, said he was skeptical about Saudi explanations of what had happened and called the concealment "one of the worst".
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Trump said the ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia would be damaged if the crown prince had been dishonest with him.
"Certainly, it would be a very bad thing in terms of relationship," said Trump. "It would take a while to rebuild."
In a speech to the Turkish parliament on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the Saudi government of planning "savage killing" and demanding sanctions "at the highest levels".
The intrigue surrounding the prince's presence at a panel at the Investment Conference was amplified by another panelist, Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, who, almost a year ago, was arrested in Saudi Arabia, apparently under the orders of the crown prince.
The strange circumstances surrounding Mr. Hariri's visit at the time aroused international excitement, but the two men seem to have made amends since the release of Mr. Hariri.
Mr. Hariri did not speak about the incident, he focused his remarks on the development of the Lebanese economy. But Crown Prince Mohammed wanted to joke about it.
"His Excellency Prime Minister Saad remains two days in Saudi Arabia," said Crown Prince. "So I hope the rumors do not say that he was kidnapped."
Above all, the crown prince took advantage of his appearance to praise what he described as the rich and glorious future of his country.
"I do not think there is a challenge to the great Saudi people," he said. "All our projects are underway, reforms are continuing, our war against extremism continues, our war against terrorism continues and the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues. No matter how they try to stop our efforts, we will not stop. "
Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, was also part of the group of experts devoted to economic development in the Middle East.
Crown Prince Mohammed was ovationed upon entering the ballroom at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, where business leaders from around the world converged to create a network and make deals – though many were canceled last week, referring to the Khashoggi scandal.
The audience, standing only, greeted the Crown Prince with his mobile phone upon his arrival, striving to capture the moment with images.
Throughout the day, the bankers and business leaders of the conference, known as Future Investment Initiative, wondered if the prince would actually make an appearance, which was added and then mysteriously disappeared from the conference's online agenda.
Despite the tumult, the conference frantically began the second day of its mandate, with discussions focused on Saudi Arabia's capital markets, sovereign wealth funds and investments in emerging technology sectors.
The organizers sought to impress the guests by piloting a remotely controlled drone in the lobby of the Ritz Convention Center. Participants had lunch on chicken biryani and lamb chops with white beans, taking breaks between bites to exchange their details by tapping their electronic name tags.
The Saudi officials present have tried not to focus on the killing of Mr. Khashoggi and their big plans for the kingdom.
"It was a tragedy and a very shocking moment for all of us, and I think everyone has to make up their minds," said Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud, who had just talked about her work with him. Saudi Arabia. sports authority.
"This country has 33 million people who are trying to move this country forward and we have a very clear vision," she said. "That's why we're asking people to take the initiative to invest in our future."
