MBS Says Khashoggi Murder 'Repulsive Incident', Talks to Erdogan
Saudi Arabia's crown prince Wednesday denounced the murder of critic Jamal Khashoggi as a "repulsive incident," insisting the kingdom was cooperating with Turkish authorities and that "justice will prevail."
"The incident was very painful for all Saudis, it's a repulsive incident and no one can justify it," Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in his first comments since the murder of the journalist.
"Those responsible will be held accountable... in the end justice will prevail," the prince said, speaking in Arabic during an address to the Future Investment Initiative Forum in Riyadh.
"Many are trying to exploit the Khashoggi affair to drive a wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey," he said.
"But they will not succeed as long as there is a king named Salman and a crown prince named Mohammed bin Salman," MBS stressed.
Earlier in the day, a Turkish presidential source said MBS and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed steps to "shed light" on Khashoggi's murder, in their first telephone conversation since the killing.
Erdogan has far spoken twice on the phone with Saudi King Salman since Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor and Riyadh critic, was killed inside the Saudi consulate on October 2, which he had visited to obtain documents for his marriage to a Turkish woman.
But Wednesday's telephone conversation was the first time he has spoken to the crown prince, who is seen as the driving force in day-to-day rule of the kingdom.
The two discussed "the issue of joint efforts and the steps that need to be taken in order to shed light on the Jamal Khashoggi murder in all its aspects," the source added.
The phone call was at the request of the prince, the presidential source noted.
After more than two weeks of vehement denials, Saudi Arabia asserted Saturday that the journalist was killed in a "brawl and fist fight" inside the country's consulate in Istanbul –- without revealing the whereabouts of his body.
Erdogan has never directly blamed Riyadh for the killing but vowed that Turkey would not allow the culprits to get away with the "savage murder."
"We are determined not to allow any cover up of this murder and for all those responsible -- from those who gave the command to those who executed it -- not to escape justice," he said on Wednesday.
Source: Agence France Presse
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