International reactions are skeptical and reject the Saudi narrative of the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which was rejected by Germany, France expressed doubts, and Britain spoke of its study of the next step, while demanding European countries and international organizations to achieve a transparent and fair.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the Saudi interpretation of Khashoggi's death at a conference of her Christian Democratic Party, and said the "horrific events" surrounding his death were a warning that democratic freedoms were under attack around the world, Bloomberg reported.

"We expect Saudi Arabia to exercise transparency in the circumstances of the journalist's death and background," said a joint statement by Merkel and Foreign Minister Haikou Mas. "Those responsible must be held accountable and the statements issued are not enough."

"As long as the investigations are ongoing and as long as we do not know what happened there, there is no reason to make positive decisions on arms exports to Saudi Arabia," Mas said.

"We offer our condolences to the family of Jamal Khashoggi after this confirmation of his death ... We are studying the Saudi report and our next steps," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "This is a terrible act and all those responsible must be held accountable."

"The confirmation of the death of Jamal Khashoggi is a first step towards establishing the truth," French Foreign Minister Jean-Louis Laudrian said in a statement. "There are still many questions without answers," he said.

The minister called for a thorough investigation into the case and accountability of those responsible for the killings, pointing out that these aspirations become more urgent when taking into account the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Renders also demanded that the truth be disclosed and that measures be taken to ensure that the incident does not recur.

For his part, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Roth said that more investigation is required to reveal the method of killing and responsible for him as soon as possible, and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said it is awaiting a quick, open and credible investigation into Khashoggi's death.

"The European Union and its partners stress the need for a comprehensive and transparent investigation to clarify the circumstances of Khashoggi's death and ensure that all those responsible are held accountable," said EU Commission President Federica Mugherini. The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tigani, called for an urgent international investigation by examining the evidence and clarifying The circumstances.

Turan Qashlaqji, chairman of the Association of Arab Media Workers in Turkey, denounces the Saudi story before its consulate in Istanbul (Anatolia)

international organizations
A UN spokesman said Secretary-General Antonio Guterich was deeply disturbed after Saudi Arabia confirmed Khashoggi's death and urged accountability for those involved.

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Agnes Kalamar, said in a tweet that Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Khashoggi's arbitrary execution was unreasonable and called for a credible, fair and transparent investigation.

Amnesty International's refusal was more clear when it said the findings of the Saudi investigation were "untrustworthy", arguing that "an independent investigation is the only guarantee against what appears to be more Saudi concealment of Khashoggi's killing circumstances."

This comes as UNESCO condemned the killing of Khashoggi, and called for ensuring that the perpetrators of the crime come to justice, considering that "the accounting of these crimes is not negotiable."

Sixteen African organizations to defend press freedoms demanded world leaders to bring justice to Khashoggi's assassination and punish the perpetrators.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Secretary-General Christophe DeLouar warned against "compromising" with Saudi Arabia in a way that would give "a death warrant for a kingdom that is being held, flogged, kidnapped and even killed journalists who dare to investigate and debate."

"We are not only demanding justice for the 18 involved, but we must punish those who have given orders," said Turan Qashlakji, head of the Association of Arab Media Journalists in Turkey, of which Khashoggi was a member.

Saudi Arabia had admitted at dawn Saturday that Khashoggi had died, but after a quarrel inside her consulate in Istanbul, having previously stated that he left the consulate on the second of this month.