Pompeo warns Saudis: declare facts, time is not in your favor

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on Saudi officials to declare the full facts about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying the time was not in their favor.

"There are many unanswered questions, specifically how Khashoggi's murder took place at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, describing what happened as a violation of the norms of international law," the official said in an exclusive interview with Fox News.

As the case continues to be close to its first month, Pompeo said his country would not rely on others, "but we will collect their accounts and build our own conclusion on what happened in the Khashoggi case."

Given the relations between Riyadh and Washington, he stressed that it is important to take into account strategic relations with Saudi Arabia while ensuring accountability of all those involved in the crime, describing the Saudi people as an important partner of his country.

Comprehensive investigation
On the 16th of the month, Pompeo met with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the killing of Khashoggi. The United States then announced that the Crown Prince had agreed to a thorough investigation.

The Pompeo warning coincides with the announcement by the prosecutor in Istanbul today that the Saudi journalist was strangled and his body was dismembered and then disposed of in accordance with a prepared plan, in the first official statement by the prosecution since the investigations began.

Khashoggi had a legal residency in the United States and is an eminent Saudi Crown Prince critic.