WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should take a level of responsibility for the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whether he orders it or not, US Senator Angus King said.
The independent senator from the state of "Maine" in an interview with "CNN" that the killing of Khashoggi occurred during the responsibility of Mohammed bin Salman in his country.
He said he and Republican Senator Todd Young pressed the Saudi crown prince when they met him in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this week.
For his part, Senator Young said that they were very direct and clear in their conversation with the Crown Prince on this matter, and they made it clear that this issue remains a major obstacle in relations between the two countries.
The senators said in a joint statement that they also raised with the Saudi crown prince the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, tension with Iran and the fight against terrorism.
In November 2018, citing informed sources, the major US media revealed that the CIA had concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Khashoggi.
The killing of Khashoggi inside his country's consulate in Istanbul in early October sparked international outrage and continued demands to reveal the whereabouts of the body and who ordered his death.
After providing conflicting explanations, Riyadh admitted that the Saudi journalist was killed and his body was beheaded inside the consulate after negotiations failed to persuade him to return to the kingdom.