US president Donald Trump warns against halting Saudi arms deal

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday warned against halting the Riyadh arms deal. Notably, the statement comes hours after Saudi Arabia admitted that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside its consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul.

While talking to the reporters in Nevada, President Trump said that suspension of the deal with Saudi Arabia would affect American jobs. “We have USD 450 billion, USD 110 billion of which is a military order, but this is equipment and various things ordered from Saudi Arabia. It’s over a million jobs; that’s not helpful for us to cancel an order like that. That hurts us far more than it hurts them,” CNN quoted Trump, as saying.

The US president, however, pointed out that the imposition of sanctions was being mulled over for Riyadh. “But there are other things that could be done, including sanctions,” he noted. Reacting to the question asked about the Saudi official who was fired in connection with Khashoggi’s killing, Trump asserted that he is not satisfied as there are questions that still need to be answered.

Earlier, in the day, Saudi Attorney-General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb, in a statement, said that Khashoggi died after discussions at the consulate devolved into an altercation.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, who wrote critically of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) rise to power, went missing on October 2 after entering the consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents needed for his upcoming marriage. His whereabouts remained unknown since.

Soon after the incident was reported, Turkey’s pro-government press reported that Turkey has an audio recording that proves the alleged murder of Khashoggi at the consulate and that he was tortured before his death. However, the Turkish government never confirmed the existence of the tape.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia admits Jamal Khashoggi killed in Istanbul consulate