Pompeo meets Saudi king, prince over Khashoggi affair

Pompeo met Tuesday with the Saudi Arabian monarch and the crown prince on behalf of Trump, who vowed to “get to the bottom” of the mystery surrounding Khashoggi’s disappearance.

By Associated Press and World Israel News Staff

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Tuesday with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Mohammed over the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.

Prince Mohammed, whom Khashoggi wrote critically about in The Washington Post and whose rise to power saw the writer go into a self-imposed exile in the U.S. said during the meeting: “We are strong and old allies. We face our challenges together — the past, the day of, tomorrow.”

Pompeo arrived at a royal palace in Riyadh on Tuesday. The king greeted Pompeo by saying: “I hope you are comfortable here.”

Khashoggi disappeared two weeks ago at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkey fears Khashoggi was killed and dismembered at the consulate by a Saudi hit team. Saudi Arabia calls the allegation “baseless,” although reports say the kingdom may soon acknowledge the writer was indeed killed.

KhashoggiSaudi ArabiaTrump administration