Khashoggi death: US slams Saudi for 'deception' but won't scrap arms deal

Trump, in his strongest comments to date on the killing, told The Washington Post that he had seen no evidence to indicate the Crown Prince knew Khashoggi was going to be killed or ordered the killing

Reuters Elko, Nev/Istanbul

Last Updated : Oct 22 2018 | 2:00 AM IST

US President Donald Trump on Sunday strongly criticised Saudi Arabia for its "deception" and "lies" in the killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, even as he defended Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and rejected the cancellation of $110-billion arms deal with the oil-rich country.

Trump, in his strongest comments to date on the killing, told The Washington Post that he had seen no evidence to indicate the Crown Prince knew Khashoggi was going to be killed or ordered the killing.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom did not know where the body of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi was, despite admitting to the killing and calling it a "tremendous mistake." Speaking in an interview on Fox News, Jubeir said the Saudi leadership initially believed Khashoggi had left its consulate in Istanbul, where he was last seen on October 2.

But following "reports we were getting from Turkey," Saudi authorities began an investigation, which discovered he was killed in the diplomatic mission.

"We don't know, in terms of details, how. We don't know where the body is," Jubeir said, adding that the Saudi public prosecutor had put out orders to detain 18 individuals, "the first step in a long journey." He termed the killing a "tremendous mistake" but one which the US-Saudi relationship would eventually overcome.

"The individuals who did this did this outside the scope of their authority. There obviously was a tremendous mistake made, and what compounded the mistake was the attempt to try to cover up," Jubeir told Fox News.

"That is unacceptable in any government. These things unfortunately happen. We want to make sure that those who are responsible are punished and we want to make sure we have procedures in place to prevent it from happening again."

Germany will not export arms to Saudi Arabia while the current uncertainty over the fate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi persists, Chancellor Angela Merkel said.

Campaigning for her party in a regional election, Merkel repeated to a news conference her earlier condemnation of Khashoggi's killing, which Saudi Arabia admitted had taken place inside its consulate in Istanbul.