World
10:51, 02-Dec-2018
'No direct evidence' linking MBS to Khashoggi murder, says Pompeo
Updated
09:52, 05-Dec-2018
["other","north america"]
Share
Copied
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted Saturday there was "no direct evidence" linking Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, contradicting an earlier assessment by the CIA that the prince had ordered the killing.
"I have read every piece of intelligence that is in the possession of United States government," Pompeo said in an interview with CNN on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires.
"When it is done, when you complete that analysis, there's no direct evidence linking him to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," he said.
Asked about the CIA's assessment, Pompeo said: "I can't comment on intelligence matters, CIA conclusions."
He noted however that the relationship between Washington and Riyadh "has mattered for 70 years across Republican and Democrat administrations like ... We're aiming to keep that relationship."
The CIA assessed that the crown prince ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the Saudi crown prince, at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
U.S. President Donald Trump, however, sought to cast doubt on the assessment, telling reporters the agency had not formed a definitive conclusion.
Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder.
After offering numerous contradictory explanations, Riyadh later said Khashoggi had been killed and his body dismembered when negotiations to persuade him to return to Saudi Arabia failed.
(Top picture: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the plenary session of the G20 Leader's Summit, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)
Source(s): Reuters