Pompeo's Advice to Trump: Give Saudis a Few More Days for Investigations

The U.S. Secretary of State, after returning from a trip to Saudi Arabia and Turkey, stated that in a meeting with President Donald Trump, he advised that Washington should give the Saudis a few more days to conclude their investigations into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Mike Pompeo said on Thursday, October 18, after meeting with the U.S. President, that he told Trump to allow the Saudis to finalize their understanding of the facts. He emphasized that the United States takes Khashoggi's disappearance 'very seriously' and will wait for the results of the investigations by Saudi Arabia and Turkey regarding his fate before making a decision on how to respond. The U.S. Secretary of State mentioned that Saudi officials assured him that they would conduct a 'complete and thorough' investigation in this matter. Pompeo also stressed the 'long-term strategic relations' between Washington and Riyadh. The Trump administration is under pressure from Congress to punish Saudi Arabia for Khashoggi's case. However, Donald Trump has stated that the U.S. will not abandon its ally and considers Riyadh a major customer for the U.S. A new image of Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, a Saudi security colonel reportedly close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was published by Turkish media, including the Sabah newspaper, just hours before Pompeo's statements. CCTV footage shows Mutreb entering the consulate at 9 a.m. on October 2, a few hours before Khashoggi's arrival. Mutreb is accused of leading a 15-member team to abduct and kill Jamal Khashoggi. Turkish media claim that Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate and his body was dismembered by a forensic expert with a saw. Saudi Arabia has denied this accusation, stating that the journalist left the Saudi consulate. Turkish police have inspected the Saudi consulate and the residence of the Saudi consul in Istanbul twice in the past two days, with these inspections lasting hours and apparently yielding 'important evidence.' Meanwhile, The Washington Post published Khashoggi's 'final note' for the newspaper titled 'Freedom of Expression: The Most Important Need of the Arab World' on Wednesday. In part of this note, Khashoggi refers to the role of 'Radio Free Europe' during the Cold War, stating that the Arab world today needs a media outlet similar to it. In another development, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin joined a long list of officials and executives from international companies who announced they would not attend the upcoming 'Davos in the Desert' conference in response to Khashoggi's disappearance. Mnuchin tweeted: 'I just met with Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo, and we decided that I will not participate in the upcoming investment summit in Saudi Arabia.' Saudi Arabia has long prepared a three-day conference titled 'Davos in the Desert' in Riyadh from October 23 to 25, hoping to attract major international investments to implement the Crown Prince's grand economic plans.