Trump on Thursday disputed the CIA’s reported conclusion Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing.<\/b>
\nTurkey’s top diplomat on Friday slammed President Donald Trump for turning a „blind eye“ to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as the president continues to tout US-Saudi relations amid accusations he’s placed arms sales and oil prices above upholding human rights.
Trump on Thursday disputed the CIA’s reported conclusion Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing, suggesting the agency simply has „feelings“ on what happened to the journalist.
„They have not concluded. Nobody’s concluded. I don’t know if anybody’s going to be able to conclude that the Crown Prince did it,“ Trump said. „They said he might have done it. That’s a big difference.“
The president also claimed Prince Mohammed „hates“ what happened to Khashoggi more than he does, adding that the prince „vehemently“ denies involvement.
„I hate the crime, I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, and they have vehemently denied it,“ Trump said.
Read more: Turkey says the CIA has a ’smoking gun‘ tape nailing the Saudi crown prince in the Khashoggi case
Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Saudi Arabia initially denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s fate, but ultimately acknowledged he was killed by agents of the government within the consulate. But the Saudi leadership has maintained Prince Mohammed had nothing to do with it.
Trump has largely accepted the Saudi narrative and on Tuesday issued a forceful defense of Riyadh over Khashoggi’s killing.
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
In this photo taken Thursday, Nov. 22,2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks about the upcoming two-day G-20 summit during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s top diplomat Cavusoglu says Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has requested to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (AP Photo\/Burhan Ozbilici)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20,2018 — U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo R meets with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the U. S. Department of State in Washington D. C., the United States, on Nov. 20,2018. (Xinhua\/Liu Jie) (Xinhua\/Liu Jie via Getty Images)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, speaks during a joint press conference with European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini after their meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 22,2018. Mogherini on Thursday expressed „strong concerns“ over the continued detentions of academics and activists in Turkey. Federica Mogherini also called for the release of Turkey’s former pro-Kurdish party leader Selahattin Demirtas from jail, in line with a European Court of Human Rights ruling this week. (AP Photo\/Burhan Ozbilici)
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, walks with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, left, prior to their meeting, in Ankara, Turkey,Thursday, Nov. 22,2018. Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn are meeting Turkish officials for talks focusing on Turkey’s long-stalled membership bid, days after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled Turkey would not abide by European Court of Human Rights ruling calling on it to release a jailed former pro-Kurdish opposition leader.(Cem Ozdel\/Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP, Pool)
CORRECTS DATE Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, shakes hands with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini prior to their meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 22,2018. Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn are meeting Turkish officials for talks focusing on Turkey’s long-stalled membership bid, days after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signaled Turkey would not abide by European Court of Human Rights ruling calling on it to release a jailed former pro-Kurdish opposition leader. (Cem Ozdel\/Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP, Pool)
CORRECTS DATE Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, poses with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, center, and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn prior to their meeting, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 22,2018. Mogherini and Hahn are meeting Turkish officials for talks focusing on Turkey’s long-stalled membership bid, days after Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled Turkey would not abide by European Court of Human Rights ruling calling on it to release a jailed former pro-Kurdish opposition leader. (Cem Ozdel\/Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP, Pool)
ANKARA, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 22: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, EU Neighborhood Policy Minister Johannes Hahn (not seen), High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini (not seen) hold a joint press conference within ‚The High-Level Political Dialogue Meeting between Turkey and the European Union‘ in Ankara, Turkey on November 22,2018.
(Photo by Cem Ozdel\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)
ANKARA, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 22: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (C), EU Neighborhood Policy Minister Johannes Hahn (R), High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini (L) hold a joint press conference within ‚Turkey-EU High-Level Political Dialogue Meeting‘ in Ankara, Turkey on November 22,2018.
(Photo by Cem Ozdel\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)
ANKARA, TURKEY – NOVEMBER 22: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) participates in ‚The High-Level Political Dialogue Meeting between Turkey and the European Union‘ in Ankara, Turkey on November 22,2018.
(Photo by Cem Ozdel\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, USA – NOVEMBER 20: Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) holds a press conference in Washington, United States on November 20,2018. (Photo by Fatih Aktas\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, USA – NOVEMBER 20: Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) meets US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo (L) in Washington, United States on November 20,2018. (Photo by Fatih Aktas\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images)
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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reacted to much of this on Friday, telling CNN, „In a way, Mr. Trump’s statement means ‚Come what may, I will turn a blind eye on this.‘ This approach is wrong. Money is not everything. We should not distance ourselves from human values.“
Cavusoglu added, „We found the US president’s statement about [Prince Mohammed’s] involvement where he said ‚Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t,‘ interesting. What he based this on, we don’t know.“
Read more: ‚Saudi Arabia First, not America First‘: Even top GOP allies of Trump are railing against his defense of Saudi Arabia over Khashoggi’s killing
Trump has so far refused to support any significant changes to the US-Saudi partnership amid bipartisan calls in Congress for the relationship to be reevaluated. The Treasury Department recently sanctioned 17 Saudi nationals allegedly connected to Khashoggi’s killing, and the Trump administration seems to feel this suffices in terms of a response.
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