Not satisfied with the Saudis on Khashoggi investigation: Trump

October 23, 2018 08:24

United States President Donald Trump has said he was "not satisfied" with the response of Riyadh over the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Turkey.

The president also said a group of US officials are in Saudi Arabia and another group of investigators in Turkey are trying to gather information on this issue.

"I am not satisfied with what I've heard," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for an election rally in Texas Monday.

"We will know very soon. We have tremendously talented people very well. They're coming back tonight or tomorrow and I will know very soon," he said responding to a question.

Khashoggi, a writer for The Washington Post, was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, where he had gone to collect some papers related to his marriage.

For the first two weeks, the government of Saudi Arabia had said Khashoggi left the consulate through the back door.

Following a global outrage, a few days ago, the Saudi government in a statement acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed in a fistfight inside the consulate and noted that an interrogation went wrong.

Except for Trump administration officials, lawmakers and think-tanks are saying that the Saudi explanation is not credible.

Trump had told reporters that he has spoken to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who wields the real power in Saudi Arabia after the King.

"We have people over in Saudi Arabia now. We have top intelligence people in Turkey. We're going to see what we have.

"I'll know a lot tomorrow, they'll be coming back either tonight or tomorrow morning," the US president said.

Responding to questions, Trump said he was against making any move on the USD 110 billion mega arms deal with the Saudis.

"I don't want to lose all of that investment that's being made in our country. I don't want to lose a million jobs, I don't want to lose USD110 billion in terms of investment, but it's really USD450 billion So that's very important," he said.

However, "we're going to get to the bottom of it", Trump said. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

EPL PIX: Manchester City thump Wolves; Arsenal down Bouremouth

IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.

Real Madrid secure LaLiga title after Girona thrash Barca

Ancelotti's second-string players proved they were up to the task as they secured three points for Real and kept them on course for the inevitable LaLiga title celebrations.

Kotak Mahindra Bank reports 25% rise in Q4 net profit

Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday reported a 25 per cent growth in its March quarter net profit at Rs 5,302 crore, limited by a drop in the core income due to narrow interest margins. On a standalone basis, the city-headquartered lender's...

1 IAF personnel killed, 4 injured in Poonch terror attack

The attack took place near Shashidhar in the evening when the vehicles were moving towards Sanai Top in the district's Surankote area.

IPL PIX: RCB fumble before scripting win over GT

IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans in Bengaluru, on Saturday.