BICOM

Jeremy Hunt will meet with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman today on a visit to Saudi Arabia.

The Foreign Secretary will be the most senior Western diplomat to meet with Crown Prince bin Salman since Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month. He will reportedly urge bin Salman to step-up Saudi cooperation with the investigation of the killing. Before the visit the Foreign Secretary commented on the Khashoggi case and said: “The international community remain united in horror and outrage at the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi one month ago. It is clearly unacceptable that the full circumstances behind his murder still remain unclear. We encourage the Saudi authorities to co-operate fully with the Turkish investigation into his death, so that we deliver justice for his family and the watching world.”

On Saturday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that recordings related to Khashoggi’s death had been passed on to the UK, US, Saudi Arabia and other powers. On Sunday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke to bin Salman and, according to his spokeswoman Heath Nauert, “emphasised that the US will hold all of those involved in the killing of Jamal Khashoggi accountable, and that Saudi Arabia must do the same”.

The New York Times reported yesterday that top Saudi intelligence officials close to Crown Prince bin Salman asked a small group of businessmen last year about using private companies to assassinate Iranians deemed to be a security threat to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

Secretary Hunt will visit the UAE later this week as part of diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen. He said: “The human cost of war in Yemen is incalculable: with millions displaced, famine and disease rife and years of bloodshed, the only solution is now a political decision to set aside arms and pursue peace.”