Khashoggi murder: Saudi crown prince calls journalist's killing 'heinous crime'
Mohammed bin Salman commented on the writer's death at the Future Investment Initiative in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
Thursday 25 October 2018 07:35, UK
Saudi Arabia's crown prince has called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi a "heinous crime that cannot be justified".
Mohammed bin Salman separately said that the killing of the Washington Post columnist will not "drive a wedge" between the kingdom and Turkey.
His comments on Wednesday were made at the Future Investment Initiative in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
This year's summit has been overshadowed by the killing of Mr Khashoggi on 2 October.
Appearing on a discussion panel at the international investment conference, Prince Mohammed said the case of the murdered journalist was "painful".
He said: "The crime was really painful to all Saudis. I believe it is painful for every human in the world.
"It is a heinous crime that cannot be justified."
He said all culprits will be punished and that Saudi Arabia and Turkey will work together "to reach results".
Turkish media has identified a "hit squad" of 15 people who it says helped torture, kill and dismember Mr Khashoggi, and Saudi authorities have arrested 18 people.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain would be taking action against the suspects, shortly after she spoke to Saudi Arabia's King Salman, to express her concerns about the allegations.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister spoke to King Salman today to reiterate the UK's grave concerns about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
"The Prime Minister said the current explanation lacks credibility so there remains an urgent need to establish exactly what happened.
"She strongly urged Saudi Arabia to co-operate with the Turkish investigation and to be transparent about the results. It is important that the full facts are established."
Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that a man, apparently dressed in Mr Khashoggi's clothes, acted as a possible decoy by walking out of the Saudi consulate on the day of the disappearance.
He also described Mr Khashoggi's death as a "savage murder".
A member of Prince Mohammed's entourage was allegedly at the consulate at the time.
Prince Mohammed also promised that Saudi-Turkish relations would not be hurt.
"We know that many are trying to use this painful thing to create a kind of wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey," he said.
"I want to send them a message: They will not be able to do that as long as there is king called King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia."
International business leaders have pulled out from attending the summit over the killing.
US president Donald Trump described the journalist's murder as one of the "worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups".
He said: "The execution was no good. And the cover-up, if you want to call it that, was certainly no good.
"Whoever thought of that idea I think is in big trouble - and they should be in big trouble."
Mr Trump also said he had spoken to Prince Mohammed, who "strongly said that he had nothing to do with this".