Mubasher: Six Arab allies on Monday have stressed their complete support and solidarity with Saudi Arabia against efforts to harm the Kingdom’s policy and sovereignty over the disappearance of a prominent Saudi critic.
The GCC nation has forcefully denied the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi within its consulate in Turkey, stressing that he left the consulate unharmed and calling allegations that he was kidnapped or killed “baseless”.
The six Arab nations include Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Comoros.
In the same vein, the Arab League said in a statement that it rejects any threat to impose sanctions against the Kingdom.
“It is totally unacceptable in the framework of relations between countries to threaten economic sanctions as a policy or instrument to achieve political or unilateral objectives,” it added.
Since 2 October, Khashoggi, a Saudi national who had been living in the US and writing columns for The Washington Post, has been vanishing when he visited the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain marital documents.
During an interview with Bloomberg, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that the kingdom has not detained Khashoggi at its Consulate in Turkey.
Bloomberg reported that the Turkish authorities believe Khashoggi was tortured and killed by a team flown in from Riyadh.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia has opened an internal investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance at its Istanbul consulate, according to a Saudi official, affirming that the Arab country could hold people accountable if the evidence warrants it.
Over the weekend, Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz ordered the Saudi public prosecutor to investigate the fate of Jamal Khashoggi, after the Gulf nation received information from Turkish authorities, the official told Bloomberg News.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have already said they would cooperate in a joint investigation.
Earlier this day, the US has dispatched its Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to Saudi Arabia to discuss the case, President Donald Trump said on Twitter.
