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The Turkish Foreign Minister criticized President Trump, saying that the US leader seems to want to "turn a blind eye" to the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the Kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Mevlut Cavusoglu also described the reaction of many European countries to Khashoggi's death as "artificial" and "cosmetic".
Cavusoglu was referring to the bans imposed by some countries on Saudi citizens detained in Saudi Arabia as a result of the murder, to enter European countries. Cavusoglu spoke Friday on Turkish television CNN-Turk.
Trump challenged Thursday that US intelligence officials had concluded that the Saudi Crown Prince had ordered the assassination of Khashoggi – a US-based journalist who criticized his regime.
Cavusoglu said: "Trump's statements are worth saying," I'm going to close my eyes, no matter what happens. "
He added: "Money is not everything, we must not move away from human values."
On Thursday, Trump doubled Tuesday's statement that he was siding with the Saudis, saying the Saudi Crown Prince and his father "vehemently deny" the role-play in his death. The CIA, Trump said Thursday, never "concluded" that the Saudi king was responsible for the death, although CBS News confirmed that CIA intelligence indicated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the murder. Mr. Trump refused to listen to the audio of the murder.
Asked who should be held responsible for Khashoggi's death, the president said on Thursday: "Maybe the world should be held responsible because the world is a perverse place."
"So, I hate crime and hate what's done and hate camouflage," Trump said. "And I'll tell you this, the Crown Prince hates him more than me."
The president has long formulated his defense of the Saudis economically, saying that the financial relations between the two nations were indispensable.
"Do people really want me to give up hundreds of thousands of jobs? And frankly, if we stick to that norm, no one would be our ally," Trump said Thursday.
Earlier in the week, the president announced that there would be no more punishment for the Saudis after the death of Khashoggi, a statement that sent a shock wave to Washington and which was described by critics as propaganda for the Saudis.
"It could very well be that the crown prince was aware of this tragic event," said the president in a statement. "Maybe he did it and maybe he did not!" Mr. Trump said in his written remarks to the point of exclamation.
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