Erdogan ‘pretty rough’ on Saudis over Khashoggi: Trump
Published : 24 Oct 2018, 16:18
President Donald Trump said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was "pretty rough" on Saudi Arabia in remarks yesterday about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and said Riyadh's handling of the matter was "the worst cover-up ever."
Trump told reporters he wanted to get all the facts on Khashoggi's death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul before agreeing with Erdogan's assessment. Trump, who sent his CIA director to Turkey to discuss the issue, said he expected to have a report pretty soon.
Worst cover up
Hours after Erdogan, dismissed Saudi efforts to blame Khashoggi's death on rogue operatives, US president Donald Trump said Saudi handling of the matter is "the worst cover-up ever."
Erdogan urged Riyadh to search "from top to bottom" to uncover those behind Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, an incident that has sparked global outrage and strained relations between Riyadh and Washington.
For Saudi Arabia’s allies, the question will be whether they believe that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has painted himself as a reformer, has any culpability.
Trump said the killing and subsequent cover-up by Saudi Arabia were "a total fiasco."
"There should have never been an execution or a cover-up, because it should have never happened," Trump told reporters. He said he had spoken on Monday with the crown prince who denied having anything to do with Khashoggi's killing.
Earlier, Trump said the Khashoggi matter was handled badly by Saudi officials.
"Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever," Trump told reporters at the White House.
US to bar 21 Saudis from entering over Khashoggi's death
21 Saudis will have their US visas revoked or be made ineligible for US visas over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said yesterday.
The vast majority of the 21 have US visas, a US State Department official said.
Source: Reuters