RIYADH: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday arrived in Riyadh, where he is set to ask Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ensure the killers of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are held accountable.
The top US diplomat, on an extensive Middle East tour, embarked on his second politically sensitive visit to Saudi Arabia since Khashoggi’s murder inside its Istanbul consulate sparked an international outcry.
“We will continue to have a conversation with the crown prince and the Saudis about ensuring the accountability is full and complete with respect to the unacceptable murder of Jamal Khashoggi,” Pompeo told reporters in Qatar, before flying to Riyadh.
“So, we’ll continue to talk about that and make sure we have all the facts so that they are held accountable, certainly by the Saudis but by the United States as well.” He was speaking in Doha after meeting his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. He also met the Qatari emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, before heading to Saudi Arabia.
Pompeo’s visit to Saudi Arabia, where he will be hosted by Prince Mohammed, is part of an extensive eight-day trip to Amman, Cairo, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Riyadh, Muscat, and finally Kuwait City.
Khashoggi was killed on October 2 in a case which stunned the world and threatened a serious rift between Riyadh and Washington. The journalist was murdered and his corpse dismembered inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.
Evidence subsequently emerged that the killing was carried out by a team of Saudis sent from Riyadh and closely linked to the crown prince. Washington has demanded a transparent investigation.
Riyadh prosecutors have announced indictments against 11 people, and are seeking the death penalty against five of them.
But Prince Mohammed, whose right-hand aides were allegedly involved in the murder, was exonerated by prosecutors despite US intelligence reportedly having evidence he was behind it.
Gulf crisis
Pompeo also called on Qatar and other Gulf countries to end the worst political rift in the region for years, which has seen Doha diplomatically and economically isolated by neighbouring former allies for the past 19 months.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt — all US allies — cut ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and seeking closer ties to Saudi Arabia’s rival Iran.
Qatar — also a US ally — denies the allegations and accuses the countries of seeking regime change.
“As for the GCC... we are all more powerful when we’re working together when we have common challenges in the region and around the world,” Pompeo said, referring to the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
“Disputes between countries that have a shared objective are never helpful.”
He added that “President Trump and I both believe the ongoing dispute in the region has gone on too long”.
However, Pompeo later admitted in a Q&A session with US embassy staff in Doha that no progress was made on resolving the issue.
Published in Dawn, January 14th, 2019
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.