Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty is a red line, Saudi columnists said on Sunday, ramping up rhetoric in defence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after a US intelligence report implicated him in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Prince Mohammed, de facto ruler of the US-allied Gulf powerhouse, has denied any involvement in the 2018 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The Biden Administration on Friday imposed sanctions on some of those involved, but spared the Prince. Washington released an intelligence report saying the crown prince had approved an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.
“America does not have the right to bully a strategic regional ally and it is not in its interest to let domestic differences harm its regional interests and those of its partners,” Khaled al-Malik wrote in local Al Jazirah newspaper.
President Joe Biden’s decision to publish the report withheld by his Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who enjoyed strong ties with Prince Mohammed, brings with it a refocusing of Washington’s stance on dealing with the kingdom, on its human rights record, and on its lucrative arms purchases.
Malik said Saudi Arabia, if pushed hard, could look to China and Russia for weapons.
WITH AGENCY INPUTS