Saudi threatens to retaliate
SAUDI Arabia yesterday warned against threats to punish it over the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last week, saying it would retaliate against any sanctions with tougher measures, as international criticism increased.
Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post columnist critical of Saudi Arabia, disappeared on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkey’s government believes he was murdered inside the building and his body removed. Saudi Arabia has denied that.
US President Donald Trump has threatened “severe punishment” if it turned out Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, though he said Washington would be “punishing” itself if it halted military sales to Riyadh, a key ally.
“The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures, or repeating false accusations,” the official Saudi Press Agency quoted an unnamed government source as saying.
“The kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy,” the source added, without elaborating.
Britain, France and Germany told Saudi Arabia they were treating the case with “the utmost seriousness.”
“There needs to be a credible investigation to establish the truth about what happened, and — if relevant — to identify those bearing responsibility for the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, and ensure that they are held to account,” the foreign ministers from the three countries said in a joint statement.
The Saudi stock market lost US$33 billion of its value yesterday amid investor worries about deteriorating international relations.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya channel’s General Manager Turki Aldakhil warned that imposing sanctions on the world’s largest oil exporter could spark global economic disaster. “It would lead to Saudi Arabia’s failure to commit to producing 7.5 million barrels. If the price of oil reaching US$80 angered President Trump, no one should rule out the price jumping to US$100, or US$200, or even double that figure,” he wrote.
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