Riyadh rejects anti-Saudi attacks
Interior Minister: We value cooperation with Turkey in joint probe
Manama: Saudi Arabia’s Interior Minister Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Bin Nayef has condemned the false accusations and attacks on the Saudi government and people peddled by some media covering the disappearance of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi.
Reports about the existence of orders to kill Khashoggi are baseless lies and fabrications towards the government of the Kingdom, which remains committed to its values and traditions and compliant with international laws, norms and conventions.
Prince Abdul Aziz said in the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency early on Saturday that Saudi Arabia “valued the cooperation with the brothers in Turkey through the joint investigation team and other official channels,” and stressed the important role of the media in reporting facts and not influencing investigations and judicial proceedings.
Saudi Arabia is keen on the interests of its citizens, both in the kingdom and abroad, and is particularly interested in the whole truth about the disappearance of its citizen Jamal Khashoggi, he added.
Bahrain and the UAE in separate statements said they sided with Saudi Arabia, saying that it was being politically targeted by campaigns that were not genuinely keen on finding out the truth about Khashoggi’s disappearance.
Khashoggi was last seen in public on October 2 as he was entering the Saudi general consulate in Istanbul reportedly for a document that would allow him to get re-married.
A Turkish woman who said she was his fiancee said that he never came out of the building. She said she had been to the consulate with him, but waited for him outside. She added that she raised the alarm by calling a Turkish official and friends.
However, Saudi Arabia said that Khashoggi left the premises of the diplomatic mission and that it was keen on finding out about the whereabouts of its citizen.
Riyadh and Ankara agreed on forming a joint team to probe Khashoggi’s disappearance and on Friday, the Saudi delegation arrived in the Turkish capital.
Meetings in Ankara between the two sides will discuss the legal framework for the investigation ahead of field work in Istanbul.