Trump said Friday that he will call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to discuss the disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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| © Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing on Hurricane Michael in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, on Oct. 10, 2018. |
By John Fritze, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON
President Donald Trump said Friday that he will call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to discuss the disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi, assuring reporters his administration is looking into it "in a very serious manner."
Khashoggi, a critic of the government who lived in self-imposed exile in the United States, went missing Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork he needed to marry his Turkish fiancée.
"We’re going to find out what happened with respect to the terrible situation in Turkey having to do with Saudi Arabia and the reporter," Trump told reporters in Ohio, where the president will hold a campaign rally. "I will be calling at some point King Salman."
Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the diplomatic facility, a claim Saudi officials deny. A surveillance video shows Khashoggi entering the consulate, but there is no similar footage of his departure.
Khashoggi's disappearance has created a diplomatic crisis for the Trump administration. The president is facing increasing pressure to press Saudi Arabia – a close ally in the Middle East – for more information about what happened to the journalist.
Trump said that many countries were "looking very hard and fast" at what happened.
"A lot of people are looking to find out because it is potentially a really, really terrible situation," Trump said.
Trump did not say when he would call King Salman.
Khashoggi, a critic of the government who lived in self-imposed exile in the United States, went missing Oct. 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to obtain paperwork he needed to marry his Turkish fiancée.
"We’re going to find out what happened with respect to the terrible situation in Turkey having to do with Saudi Arabia and the reporter," Trump told reporters in Ohio, where the president will hold a campaign rally. "I will be calling at some point King Salman."
Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the diplomatic facility, a claim Saudi officials deny. A surveillance video shows Khashoggi entering the consulate, but there is no similar footage of his departure.
Khashoggi's disappearance has created a diplomatic crisis for the Trump administration. The president is facing increasing pressure to press Saudi Arabia – a close ally in the Middle East – for more information about what happened to the journalist.
Trump said that many countries were "looking very hard and fast" at what happened.
"A lot of people are looking to find out because it is potentially a really, really terrible situation," Trump said.
Trump did not say when he would call King Salman.
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