U. S. President Donald Trump joined European leaders on Saturday in pushing Saudi Arabia for more answers about Jamal Khashoggi after Riyadh changed its story and acknowledged that the journalist died over two weeks ago at its consulate in Istanbul.<\/b>
\nELKO, Nev.\/ISTANBUL (Reuters) – U. S. President Donald Trump joined European leaders on Saturday in pushing Saudi Arabia for more answers about Jamal Khashoggi after Riyadh changed its story and acknowledged that the journalist died over two weeks ago at its consulate in Istanbul.
Saudi Arabia said early on Saturday that Khashoggi, a critic of the country\u2019s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had died in a fight inside the building.
Germany called that explanation \u201cinadequate\u201d and questioned whether countries should sell arms to Saudi Arabia, while France and the European Union urged an in-depth investigation to find out what happened to the Washington Post columnist after he entered the consulate on Oct. 2 for documents for his marriage.
Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a Saudi national and U. S. resident, was killed inside the consulate by a team of Saudi agents and his body cut up.
The Khashoggi case has caused an international outrage and frayed political and business ties between Western powers and U. S. ally Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s No.1 oil exporter.
Asked during a trip to Nevada if he was satisfied that Saudi officials had been fired over Khashoggi\u2019s death, Trump said: \u201cNo, I am not satisfied until we find the answer. But it was a big first step, it was a good first step. But I want to get to the answer.\u201d
Trump\u2019s comments about the Khashoggi incident in recent days have ranged from threatening Saudi Arabia with \u201cvery severe\u201d consequences and warning of economic sanctions, to more conciliatory remarks in which he has played up the country\u2019s role as a U. S. ally against Iran and Islamist militants, as well as a major purchaser of U. S. arms.
He had earlier called the Saudi narrative of what happened to Khashoggi credible.
Riyadh provided no evidence on Saturday to support its account and made no mention of what had become of Khashoggi\u2019s body.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for a full investigation and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a joint statement with her foreign minister, said the Saudi account was not enough.
\u201cWe expect transparency from Saudi Arabia about the circumstances of his death… The information available about events in the Istanbul consulate is inadequate,\u201d the Germans said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called into question the sale of arms to Saudi Arabia.
Trump said it was possible that Prince Mohammed had been unaware of the circumstances around the death of Khashoggi, 59. Trump said he would speak with the prince.
For Western allies, a main question in the Khashoggi affair will be whether they believe that the prince, who has painted himself as a reformer, has any culpability. King Salman, 82, had handed the day-to-day running of Saudi Arabia to him.
Trump, who has forged close ties with Saudi Arabia and the crown prince, said he was concerned that it was unclear where the journalist\u2019s body is.
Turkish investigators are likely to find out what happened to the body \u201cbefore long\u201d, a senior Turkish official said earlier on Saturday.
Officials told Reuters in Turkey on Thursday that Khashoggi\u2019s remains may have been dumped in Belgrad Forest adjacent to Istanbul, and at a rural location near the city of Yalova, 90 km (55 miles) south of Istanbul,
Turkish sources say the authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting Khashoggi\u2019s murder inside the consulate. Pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak, citing the audio, said his torturers cut off his fingers during an interrogation and later beheaded him.
Trump said no one from his administration has seen video or a transcript of what happened inside the consulate.
A group of 15 Saudi nationals arrived in Istanbul in two planes and entered the consulate on the same day Khashoggi was there and later left the country, a Turkish security source told Reuters. SAUDI VERSION
Saudi Arabia had until now strenuously denied that Khashoggi had died in the consulate.
But the Saudi public prosecutor said on Saturday that a fight broke out between Khashoggi and people who met him in the building, leading to his death. Eighteen Saudi nationals had been arrested, the prosecutor said.
A Saudi official told Reuters separately: \u201cA group of Saudis had a physical altercation and Jamal died as a result of the chokehold. They were trying to keep him quiet.\u201d
Khashoggi\u2019s Turkish fianc\u00e9e, Hatice Cengiz, tweeted in Arabic: \u201cThey have taken your body from this world, but your beautiful smile will stay in my world forever.\u201d
Saudi state media said King Salman had ordered the dismissal of five officials, including Saud al-Qahtani, a royal court adviser seen as the right-hand man to Prince Mohammed, and deputy intelligence chief Ahmed Asiri.
The crisis prompted the king to intervene, five sources with links to the Saudi royal family told Reuters.
The king also ordered a restructuring of the intelligence service, to be led by Prince Mohammed, suggesting the prince still retained wide-ranging authority.
Saudi Arabia\u2019s regional allies – including Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – issued statements in praise of the king.
The dismissed official Qahtani, 40, rose to prominence after latching onto Prince Mohammed, becoming a rare confidant in his inner circle.
Sources say Qahtani would regularly speak on behalf of the crown prince and has given direct orders to senior officials including in the security apparatus.
The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing U. S. and Saudi officials, that Qahtani created the strategy behind the deployment an online army to harass Khashoggi and other critics of the kingdom on Twitter.
People close to Khashoggi and the government said Qahtani had tried to lure the journalist back to Saudi Arabia after he moved to Washington a year ago fearing reprisals for his views.
Asiri joined the Saudi military in 2002, according to Saudi media reports, serving as spokesman for a coalition backing Yemen\u2019s ousted president after Prince Mohammed took Saudi Arabia into that country\u2019s civil war in 2015. He was named deputy chief of foreign intelligence in 2017.
A Saudi official familiar with the Saudi investigation said the crown prince had no knowledge of the specific operation that resulted in Khashoggi\u2019s death,
\u201cThere were no orders for them to kill him or even specifically kidnap him,\u201d said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. There was a standing order to bring critics of the kingdom back to the country, he added.<\/p>\n

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