Trump vows 'severe punishment' for Saudi Arabia if Khashoggi killed
Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi has been missing since he entered the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul on October 2; Turkish officials believe he was killed inside the mission. A Saudi-Turkey joint investigation is ongoing.
US President Donald Trump, pictured at a rally in Lebanon in Ohio, says says there is a lot at stake if journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by the Saudi kingdom. October 12, 2018.
US President Donald Trump said in a CBS interview on Saturday that there would be "severe punishment" for Saudi Arabia if it turns out that missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Trump said he did not want to block military sales to Saudi Arabia, one option that has rattled US defence contractors, saying, "I don't want to hurt jobs."
Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Riyadh and a US resident who wrote columns for the Washington Post, disappeared on October 2 after visiting the consulate. Turkish and Saudi officials are jointly investigating his disappearance, however, Turkish sources have told Reuters and other media the initial assessment of the police was that Khashoggi was deliberately killed inside the consulate.
Riyadh has dismissed the claims.
TRT World's Reagan Des Vignes reports.
Trump said Saudi leaders, as of now, "deny it every way you can imagine" allegations that the journalist was murdered by the kingdom.
But, he told CBS' "60 Minutes" which will air on Sunday, ''Could it be them? Yes."
Asked whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave an order to kill Khashoggi, Trump said, "Nobody knows yet, but we'll probably be able to find out."
Trump added, "We would be very upset and angry if that were the case."
Trump said there was much at stake with Khashoggi case, "maybe especially so" because he was a reporter.
US-Saudi defence deals
Major US defence contractors have expressed concern to the Trump administration that lawmakers angered by Khashoggi's disappearance will block further arms deals with Riyadh.
But Trump said he did not want to lose military sales to Saudi Arabia that are coveted by US competitors Russia and China, also exporters of military equipment.
"I don't want to lose an order like that," he said, mentioning the companies Boeing, Lockheed and Raytheon. "And you know what, there are other ways of punishing," he said, without elaborating.
"We're going to get to the bottom of it and there will be severe punishment," Trump said.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.