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By Tulay Karadeniz and Roberta Rampton
ANKARA / WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Monday that "rogue assassins" may be behind the disappearance of the prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the secretary of state. American Mike Pompeo, who would meet King Salman about the case.
Khashoggi, an American resident, columnist for the Washington Post and a leading critic of powerful Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, disappeared after joining the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago to obtain marriage documents. Turkish officials claimed to believe that his body was murdered and his body was kidnapped, in a case that sparked international outcry.
The Turkish authorities have an audio recording stating that Khashoggi was killed at the consulate, told Reuters a Turkish official and a security source, and shared evidence with countries like Saudi Arabia and the United States. They did not provide any additional details.
Saudi Arabia has firmly denied killing Khashoggi and has called the allegations "lies", saying he had left the building soon after entering the country.
"The king has firmly denied having known about it," Trump told the press after meeting with King Salman. "He did not really know, maybe – I do not want to enter his mind but it seemed to me – maybe they're rogue killers, who knows?"
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Trump sent Pompeo to Riyadh because "determining what happened to Jamal Khashoggi is of great importance to the president."
Turkish police investigators entered the consulate in Istanbul late Monday. A Turkish diplomatic source had previously announced that a joint Turkish-Saudi team would search the building – the last place where Khashoggi was seen before his disappearance on October 2nd.
"It has been 13 days since the event happened, which certainly proves that some evidence might be difficult, but we think we will get evidence," said the Turkish official.
A Saudi official, unauthorized to speak in public, told Reuters that the king had ordered an internal investigation based on information provided by the joint team in Istanbul.
Asked when the prosecutor could make an announcement, the official said: "He was charged with working quickly."
King Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone Sunday night and stressed that it was important for both countries to create a joint group as part of the investigation.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Trump threatened to "severely punish" if it turns out that Khashoggi was killed at the consulate, although he ruled out the cancellation of the sale of weapons with Saudi Arabia worth tens of billions of dollars. dollars. European allies have called for "credible investigation" and accountability.
Britain is expecting Riyadh to provide "a comprehensive and detailed answer" to questions about Khashoggi's disappearance, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia reacted to Western statements by declaring that it would react against any economic pressure or sanctions "with more action", and that Arab allies have mobilized to support it, putting in place a potential confrontation between the world's largest oil exporter and its main Western allies.
The Saudi Riyal has fallen to its lowest level in two years and its international bond prices have fallen, fearing that foreign investment will contract under international pressure.
The Saudi stock market fell 7.2% from the previous two trading days but rebounded by 2% on Monday.
Foreign capital is the key to Saudi projects for economic diversification and job creation.
Media organizations and a growing number of guests have withdrawn from the investment conference "Davos in the Desert" scheduled for October 23-25, which has become the largest investor fair to promote the vision of reform of Prince Mohammed.
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink are reported to be withdrawing from the summit, according to a source familiar with the matter. Both companies declined to comment. CNBC announced that Ajay Banga, CEO of Mastercard, would not participate either.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (FIP), which hosts the conference, has provisionally committed $ 20 billion in planned infrastructure investment with the Blackstone Group. Prince Mohammed told Reuters last year that Blackstone and BlackRock Inc were planning to open offices in the kingdom.
The organizer insisted that the conference go ahead, indicating in a statement sent Monday by email that more than 150 speakers from more than 140 organizations had been confirmed.
KICKBACK
Arab allies of Saudi Arabia rushed to support him.
Bahrain called for a boycott of Uber, in which PIF invested $ 3.5 billion, after its general manager announced that he would not attend the conference.
Similar campaigns have been conducted on social media in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. UAE businessman, Khalaf Ahmad Al-Habtoor, has called for a boycott of Virgin, which has suspended talks with PIF about a planned $ 1 billion investment of dollars.
Khashoggi, a familiar face in Arab talk shows, moved to the United States last year, fearing he would be punished for criticizing Prince Mohammed, who cracked down on dissent through arrests.
The former editor spoke once with Osama Bin Laden and later became a recognized insider, advising former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal when he was ambassador to London and Washington.
A pro-government Turkish daily last week released preliminary evidence from investigators who allegedly identified a 15-member Saudi intelligence team arriving in Istanbul with diplomatic passports a few hours before Khashoggi's disappearance.
The Saudi consulate referred Reuters to the Riyadh authorities, who did not answer questions about the 15 Saudis.
When asked if he had examined the alleged recording of Khashoggi's assassination, Trump told reporters Saturday: "I have not … We've all heard a lot about audio. We're going to see him very soon. "
(Additional reports by Yara Bayoumy, Trevor Hunnicutt, Lesley Wroughton, Doina Chiacu in Washington, Rob Cox by Breakingviews, William James in London, Dominic Evans in Istanbul, written by Stephen Kalin, edited by David Dolan, William Maclean and Kevin Liffey)
