US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the US will hold accountable all involved in the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist in a wide-ranging telephone call that also took in the conflict in Yemen.
Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident, was murdered in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on 2 October and the crown prince has been accused of orchestrating the killing, which has strained the decades-old alliance between Washington and Riyadh.
“The secretary emphasised that the United States will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
The phone call came as about 200 people gathered in Istanbul on Sunday to honour Khashoggi. Supporters met to talk and watch videos of eulogies for the Washington Post contributor.
Turan Kislakci, head of the Turkish-Arab Media Association (TAM), to which Khashoggi belonged, called for justice to be done “so that these barbaric tyrants can never do the same thing again”.
Pompeo has previously said Khashoggi’s killing “violates the norms of international law,” and that the US was reviewing possible sanctions on individuals identified as having been involved.
But Pompeo and US president Donald Trump have also both emphasised America’s important commercial, strategic and national security relationships with the petro-state.
British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday to call on Saudi leaders to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of Khashoggi and press for an end to the war in Yemen.
The foreign ministry said Hunt would meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, Prince Mohammed, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen and Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani.
Hunt, the first British minister to visit Saudi Arabia since the murder of Khashoggi a month ago, will also call on the Saudi authorities to do more to deliver justice and accountability for his family.
“The international community remain united in horror and outrage at the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi one month ago. It is clearly unacceptable that the full circumstances behind his murder still remain unclear,” he said.
“We encourage the Saudi authorities to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into his death, so that we deliver justice for his family and the watching world.”
Khashoggi was critical of Prince Mohammed and the country’s intervention in Yemen, a conflict which also came up during the call, said Nauert.
Pompeo “reiterated the United States’ calls for a cessation of hostilities and for all parties to come to the table to negotiate a peaceful solution to the conflict,” she said.
Pompeo has previously called for an end to hostilities in the rebel-infested Arab state, emphasizing the need for the Saudi-led coalition to halt strikes in populated areas.
Prince Mohammed has overseen Saudi Arabia’s Yemen war effort, a highly controversial intervention to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government in the face of an insurgency by Houthi rebels.
Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report
