U.S. officials Pompeo, Mattis warn against downgrading U.S.-Saudi ties
Source: Reuters
NOVEMBER 28, 2018 / 10:48 AM / UPDATED 35 MINUTES AGO
Patricia Zengerle, Doina Chiacu
4 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet urged U.S. senators on Wednesday not to downgrade ties with Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying it would be a mistake for national security and would not push Saudis in a better direction at home.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pauses during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., November 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
After repeated calls from members of Congress for a strong U.S. response, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis briefed the Senate behind closed doors about Saudi Arabia and the Oct. 2 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, and on the civil war in Yemen.
“The October murder of Saudi national Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey has heightened the Capitol Hill caterwauling and media pile-on. But degrading U.S.-Saudi ties would be a grave mistake for the national security of the U.S. and its allies,” Pompeo wrote in a blog post released shortly before the briefing.
Trump has dismissed a CIA assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Khashoggi’s killing.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-usa/us-officials-pompeo-mattis-warn-against-downgrading-us-saudi-ties-idUSKCN1NX1ZV
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