US President Says Washington Would Be 'Punishing Itself' If It Halts Arms Sales to Riyadh

Rasa - US President Donald Trump stated that Washington would be “punishing itself” if it halted weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, as pressure mounts on him to take action over the suspected murder of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate in Turkey.

News ID: 441040

Date: 15 October 2018 - 11:57

RNA - “I actually think we’d be punishing ourselves if we did that,” Trump told reporters on Saturday at the White House, adding that “there are other things we can do that are very, very powerful, very strong and we’ll do them”, World News reported.

He further defended a $110 billion arms deal he announced with Riyadh last year, insisting that the deal was worth 450,000 jobs inside the United States.

“If they don’t buy it from us, they’re going to buy it from Russia or they’re going to buy it from China,” the American leader stated, noting that “think of that, $110 billion, all they’re going to do is give it to other countries, and I think that would be very foolish”.

Trump announced days ago that he has warned Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud he would not last in power "for two weeks" without US military support.

"We protect Saudi Arabia. Would you say they're rich. And I love the King, King Salman. But I said 'King — we're protecting you — you might not be there for two weeks without us — you have to pay for your military,'" Trump said.

The American leader had also called on Riyadh to increase its military spending, with an eye on more weapons sale to the "rich" kingdom.

Trump stressed that he had complained that Washington was not getting what it should from Saudi Arabia during a phone conversation with Salman.

Trump added that he had told King Salman that Riyadh has "trillions of dollars" and could pay its military bills.

"I love Saudi Arabia. They are great, King Salman, I spoke with him this morning. I said, king, you have got trillions of dollars. Without us, who knows what’s going to happen. .... With us they are totally safe. But we don’t get what we should be getting," he stated.

Despite the harsh rhetoric, the US administration has maintained a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, which it sees as a bulwark against Iran’s rising influence in the region.

Last year, the US president signed the largest arms deal in history with Saudi Arabia despite warnings that he could be accused of being complicit in the regime's war crimes in Yemen. During visit to Riyadh in May 2017, Saudi Arabia agreed to buy $US110 billion of US weapons and signed "investment" deals worth billions more.

The kingdom has one of the highest rates of spending on its military in the world, which stood at 10.3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017, according to World Bank data.

Before his presidency, Trump described Saudi Arabia as "a milk cow" which would be slaughtered when its milk runs out.

In an interview with CBS on Saturday, Trump warned that if Riyadh is behind the disappearance of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Washington would inflict "severe punishment".

The US president stated that Washington "would be very upset" if the Saudi authorities had murdered the journalist, adding that Riyadh was "vehemently denying" the claims.

He also stated that there is much at stake with the Khashoggi case "maybe especially so" because he was a reporter.

According to Trump, he does not want to hurt US jobs by stopping military sales to Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, the American leader stated that he has been in contact with senior Saudi government officials about the disappearance of the WaPo journalist in Turkey.

Trump also on Thursday commented on the incident, which seems is not Riyadh's cup of tea. The leader of America, Saudi Arabia's strongest ally, stated that Khashoggi "went in" the Saudi consulate in Turkey, and "it doesn't look like he came out".

"We want to find out what happened. He went in, and it doesn't look like he came out. It certainly doesn't look like he's around," Trump told "Fox & Friends".

The president's remarks come days after The Washington Post, citing US intelligence intercepts, reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman hatched a plot to lure Khashoggi back to his home country and detain him.

"Well it would be a really sad thing and we will probably know in the very short future," Trump said when asked about the report, adding that "we don't like it. I don't like it. No good".

Trump has faced criticism for being too slow to respond to the disappearance of Khashoggi. A group of Republican and Democrat senators united to demand an investigation into the disappearance of the Saudi journalist. It could lead to sanctions against Saudi Arabia within 120 days.

Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain a document certifying he divorced his ex-wife. He has not been seen since.

Turkish sources have told media outlets they believe the Saudi writer and critic was killed inside the consulate in what they describe as "premeditated murder". Saudi officials have countered that claim, insisting Khashoggi left the building before vanishing.

US and Turkish officials told The Washington Post there are audio and video recordings proving Khashoggi was tortured and murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Video recordings show a Saudi assassination team seizing the journalist after he walked in on October 2. He was then killed and his body dismembered, the officials stated. The audio was particularly gruesome, according to the sources.

"The voice recording from inside the embassy lays out what happened to Jamal after he entered," one official speaking anonymously because the intelligence is classified said, adding that "you can hear his voice and the voices of men speaking Arabic. You can hear how he was interrogated, tortured, and then murdered".

Another unnamed official confirmed men could be heard beating Khashoggi on the recording.

Before the journalist’s disappearance, US intelligence intercepted communications of Saudi officials discussing a plan to capture him, a person familiar with the information said, adding that The Riyadh regime wanted to lure Khashoggi back to Saudi Arabia and lay hands on him there, according to The Washinton Post.

It was not clear whether the Saudis intended to arrest and interrogate Khashoggi or to kill him, or if the United States warned Khashoggi that he was a target, this person stated.

The Washington Post has reported that the 15-member Saudi team had lain in wait for Khashoggi the day he entered the consulate but never came out.

According to Fars News Agancy, a source close to the investigation told Middle East Eye that one of those 15 individuals is the head of the forensic department in Saudi General Security.

A Turkish official also told the New York Times on the condition of anonymity that a team of Saudi agents killed the 59-year-old writer within two hours of his arrival at the consulate, and then dismembered his body with a bone saw they had brought for the purpose.

"The official described a quick and complex operation in which Mr. Khashoggi was killed within two hours of his arrival at the consulate by a team of Saudi agents, who dismembered his body with a bone saw they brought for the purpose," the newspaper reported.

US intelligence revealed that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman ordered an operation to detain missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi after luring him back to Saudi Arabia, according to The Washington Post.

US officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told The Washington Post that Salman and other Saudi officials tried to get Khashoggi to return to Saudi Arabia, where he is from, with offers of government employment and protection.

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