INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Donald Trump intended to turn a "blind eye" to Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder after he said it would not affect Washington's ties
with Riyadh.Trump's backing of Saudi Arabia, his key ally against Iran, comes despite global outrage over the grisly October 2 killing that
has tarnished the image of both the kingdom and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."In one sense, Trump is saying 'I will
turn a blind eye' no matter what happens," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with CNN Turk broadcaster."This is
Money doesn't mean everything," Cavusoglu said, referring to Trump's continued support for Saudi Arabia, which has committed billions of
dollars in US weapons contracts.Trump on Tuesday glossed over the Central Intelligence Agency's reported conclusion that the crown prince
had authorised the killing."Maybe he did and maybe he didn't!" Trump said, implying Prince Mohammed's culpability in Khashoggi's killing in
the Saudi mission in Istanbul.Trump was widely pilloried for what critics called his mercantile priorities that made him appear more like a
lobbyist for Riyadh.A former Saudi royal insider who became a critic of the crown prince, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in what
Riyadh -- after weeks of denial -- said was a "rogue" operation.The 59-year-old had gone there for documents he needed to marry his Turkish
fiancee.Saudi Arabia has held 21 people in custody over the murder but shielded the powerful crown prince.Washington earlier this month
placed sanctions on 17 Saudis, which also targeted the two top aides to the crown prince by freezing assets under US jurisdiction and
forbidding US companies from doing business with them.The killing and Riyadh's explanations have angered its Western partners.Germany on
Monday said Berlin would bar 18 Saudis from entering its territory and Europe's Schengen passport-free zone over their alleged links to the
murder.In October, Germany called for EU countries to follow its lead and suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia, prompting a dismissive
response from France, the kingdom's second-biggest customer after India.But Denmark on Thursday followed suit, freezing all sales of weapons
and military equipment to Riyadh.Cavusoglu said "artificial measures" would not help solve the crisis."They (Europe) say they don't want to
upset ties with Saudi Arabia
We do not want to upset our relations either," he said, but added Ankara would do anything to shed light on the murder.'No obstacle'Turkey
insists the murder was premeditated, sharing evidence with Riyadh as well as with the US and Western allies but stops short of pointing the
finger of blame at the prince.President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the order came from "the highest levels" but not from King
Salman.Ankara has not ruled out the possibility of a meeting between Erdogan and Prince Mohammed on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in
Argentina next week."We don't see any obstacle to a meeting with the crown prince," Cavusoglu said
"If there is a request, there could be a meeting but our president will decide."The two men spoke on the phone in late October but that
would be the first face-to-face encounter since the murder.Prince Salman on Thursday embarked on a regional tour starting with Riyadh's
close ally United Arab Emirates, his first official trip since the killing.The prince is also set to travel to the Tunisian capital on
Tuesday.Turkish pro-government media, which has often provided gruesome details of what happened to Khashoggi in a series of leaks
maintaining pressure against Riyadh, speculated further on what happened to Khashoggi's body.Sabah newspaper reported Khashoggi was first
strangled using a bag over his head before Salah Muhammed Al-Tubaigy, a lieutenant-colonel in the Saudi forensic department, drained his
blood in the bathtub before dismembering him.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is
published from a syndicated feed.)
