Old, strong allies

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with King Salman in the Saudi capital yesterday, before arriving at Riyadh’s royal palace to talk with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Pompeo thanked Saudi King Salman for his commitment to a thorough, transparent investigation of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance, while the Crown Prince assured him that the US and Saudi Arabia are “old, strong allies.” The US chief diplomat was greeted at Riyadh airport by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir and ambassador to Washington Prince Khalid bin Salman. “I hope you are comfortable here,” the Saudi King told Pompeo, according to the reporters. Pompeo responded, “Thank you for accepting my visit on behalf of President Donald Trump.”

Later, Trump said he had spoken with Crown Prince Mohammed and been assured that a full probe into Khashoggi’s disappearance was underway. “Just spoke with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia who totally denied any knowledge of what took place in their Turkish Consulate,” Trump tweeted.

He “told me that he has already started, and will rapidly expand, a full and complete investigation into this matter. Answers will be forthcoming shortly”. Pompeo will hold talks in Turkey today, the Turkish foreign ministry said, after his visit to Riyadh. The top American diplomat will meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss bilateral and regional issues including Syria, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Cabinet yesterday welcomed Turkey’s acceptance of the Kingdom’s request to form a joint team of specialists from both countries to investigate the circumstances behind the disappearance of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.