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United States (US) President Donald Trump defends Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (
MbS
) regarding the controversy over the murder of a Washington Post journalist,
Jamal Khashoggi
.Trump said MbS did not know anything about the 2018 case.
In a statement in the Oval Office on Tuesday (18/11), Trump emphasized that MbS knew nothing about Khashoggi’s murder.Trump actually implied that Khashoggi had many enemies because he was not liked by many people.
“A lot of people don’t like the man you’re talking about,” Trump said, as quoted by AFP.
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“Whether you like it or not, a lot of things have happened, and he (Prince MbS) doesn’t know anything about it. Let’s just do it. Don’t embarrass guests by asking questions like that,” said Trump.
Trump’s statement contradicts US intelligence information in 2021 which concluded that MbS was involved in the murder of the journalist because he authorized the operation.
Khashoggi was killed in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye, allegedly by Saudi agents.Saudi authorities have denied MbS’s involvement and instead blamed rogue agents.
Meanwhile MbS stated that Khashoggi’s murder was a big mistake that would not be repeated.
“(The killing) was painful and a big mistake. We are doing our best so that this does not happen again,” said MbS, as quoted
Daily Sabah
.
After this case broke out, Saudi Arabia held a closed trial and found eight Saudi citizens guilty.Five of them were sentenced to death and three others were imprisoned.The death sentence was eventually commuted.
When he heard questions about Khashoggi, Trump was beyond annoyed.He was angry with the ABC journalist who asked questions and asked the US media to revoke its broadcast license.
Since returning to his second term as president, Trump has tried to boost relations between the US and Saudi Arabia.During MbS’s first visit, he thoroughly entertained the Prince by displaying the stealth fighter that MbS dreamed of and firing cannons.
Trump also continued to praise MbS as a “very good friend” and an “extraordinary figure, in terms of human rights and other things.”
The two leaders themselves signed a number of agreements during their meeting on Tuesday.One of them concerns F-35 sales and AI technology.
Trump also persuaded MbS to join the Abraham Accords, an agreement to normalize relations between Israel and Arab-Muslim countries that he initiated in his first term.According to Trump, MbS welcomed the offer.
(blq/dna)
