RIYADH, (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman vowed yesterday that the killers of Jamal Khashoggi would be brought to justice, in his first public comments since the journalist’s murder sparked global condemnation.

Striking a defiant tone, Prince Mohammed told international investors at a major conference in Riyadh that the furore over Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul would not derail the kingdom’s reform drive.

His comments came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying that as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, the crown prince bore ultimate responsibility for the operation that led to Khashoggi’s death.

“We will prove to the world that the two governments (Saudi and Turkish) are cooperating to punish any criminal, any culprit and at the end justice will prevail,” Prince Mohammed said to applause.

The world’s top oil exporter has come under increasing pressure over the death of Khashoggi, a columnist and one of the crown prince’s most prominent critics.

The crisis has strained Riyadh’s ties with the West and led dozens of Western politicians, top world bankers and company executives to boycott the conference that opened in Riyadh on Tuesday.

French President Emmanuel Macron told King Salman in a phone call on Wednesday that Paris, in coordination with partners, could take action against those held responsible for the murder, the Elysee palace said.

However, French reaction has been relatively guarded, as Paris tries to retain its influence with Riyadh and protect commercial relations spanning energy, finance and arms sales. From 2008 to 2017, Saudi Arabia was the second biggest purchaser of French arms, with deals totalling 11 billion euros ($12.7 billion), including 1.5 billion euros last year alone.

Saudi Arabia first denied any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance but a Saudi official eventually attributed his death on Oct. 2 to a botched attempt to return him to the kingdom. Turkey has dismissed Saudi efforts to blame rogue operatives and urged the kingdom to search “top to bottom” for those responsible.

CIA Director Gina Haspel, who departed for a trip to Turkey on Monday, listened to an audio recording of Khashoggi’s interrogation and killing, people familiar with her meetings there told the Washington Post. Spokespersons for the CIA and Turkish intelligence declined to comment on Haspel’s review of the recording.

Britain, also a major weapons supplier to the kingdom, described Riyadh’s explanations as lacking credibility. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Wednesday that Britain would prevent all suspects in the killing from entering the country, shortly before she spoke to King Salman.

The Trump administration and the U.S. defence industry are scrambling to save the few actual deals in a much-touted $110 billion arms package for Saudi Arabia.

Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia and Turkey would work together “to reach results” on a joint investigation and described cooperation between the two countries as “special”, despite criticism from Ankara.

“The incident that happened is very painful, for all Saudis… The incident is not justifiable,” the crown prince said on a discussion panel at the conference.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Prince Mohammed on Wednesday and the two discussed the steps needed to bring to light all aspects of Khashoggi’s death, a presidential source said.

But in the bluntest sign yet of strained ties, one of Erdogan’s advisers wrote in a Turkish newspaper that Prince Mohammed had “blood on his hands”.

Saudi authorities did not respond to a request for comment about the remarks by Trump or the Erdogan adviser but Prince Mohammed painted a different picture of relations with Turkey.

“There are now those who are trying to take advantage of the painful situation to create a rift between the kingdom and Turkey,” he said.

“I want to send them a message that they cannot do this as long as there a king named Salman bin Abdulaziz and a crown prince named Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, and a president in Turkey named Erdogan.”

In his comments to the Wall Street Journal, Trump said he wanted to believe Prince Mohammed when he said lower level officials were to blame for Khashoggi’s death. But the U.S. president suggested responsibility lay higher up.

“Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He’s running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him,” Trump said.

The Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh was overshadowed by Khashoggi’s killing, with more than two dozen high-level participants withdrawing.

But Saudi Arabia showed it could still do business despite the furore, signing deals worth $50 billion at the conference on Tuesday. The event was attended by hundreds of bankers and company executives.

Prince Mohammed, 33, the architect of Riyadh’s reform drive, was upbeat on the economy, predicting growth of 2.5 percent this year.

He seemed relaxed on the panel he shared with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa and Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. He joked about Hariri’s detention in the kingdom last year, saying the Lebanese prime minister was free to leave after attending the conference.

“Prime Minister Saad is staying in the kingdom for two days so I hope you don’t spread rumours that he was kidnapped,” Prince Mohammed, who is also known as MbS, said.

Hariri, who has Saudi citizenship, was summoned to Riyadh a year ago, briefly detained and compelled to resign as prime minister in a speech read out on television from Saudi until France intervened to free him.

The Saudi central bank governor tried to reassure foreign banks that withdrew from the conference that they would not be penalised and may apply for licences to operate in the country, the Middle East’s largest economy.

During the panel MbS touted Saudi Arabia’s success in its efforts to transform its oil-dependent economy and make the deeply conservative kingdom a more tolerant society.

Despite the boycott of the investment conference by big hitters, including in Wall Street, some senior international bankers including from HSBC and Japan’s biggest lender MUFG attended.</s>Appearing on a discussion panel at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman said all culprits would be punished, and that Saudi Arabia and Turkey would work together "to reach results".

Bin Salman said: "The crime was really painful to all Saudis, it is a heinous crime."

“They will not be able to divide us as long as there is a king called King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and a crown prince named Mohammed bin Salman, and a president in Turkey named Erdoğan,” he added.

His remarks follow US President Donald Trump's comments to the Wall Street Journal that he wanted to believe the prince when he said that lower-level officials were to blame for the killing at the Saudi Consulate.

However, Trump suggested the crown prince could have been involved in the operation to kill the journalist: "Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage, he's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him."

A number of political figures and businesses pulled out of the conference amid global outrage over the dissident journalist's death.

The kingdom has blamed a "rogue operation" for Khashoggi's death and said the crown prince had no knowledge of the killing.

However, one of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's advisors said Prince Mohammed had "blood on his hands", in the bluntest comment yet from someone linked to Erdogan.

Bin Salman also said at the conference he predicts the economy will grow by 2.5% this year through reforms and spending on infrastructure.

However, that figure could be impacted by the global threat of sanctions on the kingdom over the Khashoggi case.

France warned on Wednesday that it could impose sanctions on Saudi if its intelligence services establish the kingdom is behind the murder.</s>Washington: US President Donald Trump has said Saudi authorities have staged the "worst ever cover up" in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi Arabia has admitted that Khashoggi, 59, a contributor for The Washington Post, was killed in its Istanbul consulate.

"They (the Saudis) had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly. And the cover-up was one of the worst in the history of cover-ups.

"Very simple. Bad deal. Should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up. And they had the worst cover-up ever," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday.

Khashoggi, a former royal family insider turned critic of the Saudi crown prince, disappeared after he entered the consulate on October 2 to collect a document for his upcoming marriage.

The incident has severely dented the international reputation of the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

Responding to a question on the probe into the death of Khashoggi, the US president said, "And where it should have stopped is at the deal standpoint, what they thought about it. Because whoever thought of that idea, I think, is in big trouble. And they should be in big trouble."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said the "savage murder" of the journalist was meticulously planned, and demanded that all those linked to the killing face punishment.

He, however, acknowledged Turkey was still searching for answers to key questions, including who gave the order.

Trump told reporters that Erdogan was pretty tough on Saudi Arabia.

"He was pretty rough on Saudi Arabia, I would say. I haven't gotten a full recap, as you know. I have people in Turkey and I have people in Saudi Arabia and other places, and they're all coming back as we speak, they're heading back," he said.

CIA Director Gina Haspel is currently in Turkey and is expected to be back soon in the US.

"I'll know, I think, everything in a very short period of time. It's a bad situation. But certainly, president Erdogan was not complimentary of what happened. That was a terrible thing that happened," he said.

Trump reiterating that he does not want to scrap the USD 110 billion mega arms deal with Saudi Arabia and the total investment of USD450 billion from that country, but did not rule out not taking any action against the Saudis.

"I want to see the facts first. Look, Saudi Arabia's been a really great ally. They've been one of the biggest investors, maybe the biggest investor, in our country.

"They are doing hundreds of billions of dollar's worth of investments. And, you know, so many jobs. So many jobs. Thousands and thousands of jobs," he said.

During his visit to Saudi Arabia in May 2017, Trump signed an agreement with the Saudis for them to purchase USD 110 billion of US weapons, although so far only USD 43 billion of that has been detailed.

"The ultimate number is around USD450 billion. I think that's over a million jobs. A million to over a million jobs. So we do that, we're just hurting ourselves. We're just hurting ourselves," Trump said.</s>U.S. President Donald Trump said Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince bore ultimate responsibility for the operation that led to Jamal Khashoggi’s killing, and Turkish police were allowed to extend their probe at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

In his toughest comments yet, Trump told the Wall Street Journal he wanted to believe the prince when he said that lower level officials were to blame for the killing at the Saudi mission.

But he suggested responsibility lay higher up: “Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He’s running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him.”

His comments heaped pressure on his close ally amid a global outcry over the journalist’s death, and came hours before Prince Mohammed’s appearance at a Saudi investment conference where he is due to make his most high profile comments since Khashoggi was killed on Oct. 2.

A number of high profile business and political figures have pulled out of the conference over the death of the journalist, a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler.

An adviser to Turkey’s president said Prince Mohammed had “blood on his hands” over Khashoggi, the bluntest language yet from someone linked to Tayyip Erdogan.

Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the remarks by Trump and the Erdogan adviser.

Riyadh has blamed a “rogue operation” for the death of the prominent Saudi journalist and said the crown prince had no knowledge of the killing.

The death of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, has sparked global outrage and threatened relations between Riyadh and Washington as well as other Western nations.

For Saudi Arabia’s allies, the burning question has been whether they believe that Prince Mohammed, who has painted himself as a reformer, has any culpability in the killing, a possibility raised by several U.S. lawmakers.

No tags for this post.</s>Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince on Wednesday called the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi a "heinous crime that cannot be justified."

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, addressing the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, said separately that the killing will not "drive a wedge" between the kingdom and Turkey.

This year's summit has been overshadowed by the killing on Oct. 2. Turkish officials say a 15-man Saudi team killed the writer at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. A member of Prince Mohammed's entourage was allegedly at the consulate at the time.

International business leaders have pulled out from attending the summit over the killing.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly spoke by phone with Prince Mohammed just before he arrived with other Arab leaders at the summit. The event, which debuted last year with global business titans in attendance, has been overshadowed by Khashoggi's slaying and the international outrage over it.

Prince Mohammed immediately addressed the killing after taking the stage.

"The crime was really painful to all Saudis. I believe it is painful for every human in the world," he said. "It is a heinous crime that cannot be justified."

He also promised Saudi-Turkish relations would not be hurt.

"We know that many are trying to use this painful thing to create a kind of wedge between Saudi Arabia and Turkey," he said. "I want to send them a message: They will not be able to do that as long as there is king called King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia."

Erdogan focused in again Wednesday on Khashoggi's death.

"We are determined not to allow the murder to be covered up and for those responsible — from the person who gave the order to those who executed it — not to escape justice," he said in the capital, Ankara.

The announcement of the call came just before Prince Mohammed, Bahrain's crown prince and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri walked into the Riyadh summit.

Erdogan has said that 15 Saudi officials arrived in Istanbul shortly before Khashoggi's death and that a man, apparently dressed in the writer's clothes, acted as a possible decoy by walking out of the consulate on the day of the disappearance.

Turkish officials say the 15 men comprised a Saudi hit squad that included a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage on overseas trips. Saudi Arabia has suggested, without offering evidence, that the team went rogue.

With the crown prince's standing marred, his ability to draw needed investment to the kingdom could be affected.

Economists say Saudi Arabia will need trillions of dollars in investments to create millions of new jobs for young Saudis entering the workforce in coming years. The investment forum is aimed at attracting investors to help underwrite that effort.

The event's first day saw several speakers acknowledge the killing of the Saudi writer whose columns criticized the crown prince's crackdown on dissent. Dozens of Saudi activists, writers, clerics and even women who were behind calls for the right to drive have been detained.

At one summit session, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih described Khashoggi's slaying as "abhorrent."

In the wake of Khashoggi's killing, many international business leaders and Western officials pulled out of the forum, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Siemens and Blackrock. Western media outlets withdrew as partners for the event.

The chief executive of U.S. private equity fund Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman, and Japan's technology giant Softbank, Masayoshi Son, joined the long list of big speakers who backed out of speaking at this year's forum. Just last year they'd shared the stage with Prince Mohammed at the event. The kingdom's sovereign wealth fund, which the crown prince oversees, has invested billions of dollars with both.

Rather than cancel their participation altogether, some companies sent mid-level executives to keep lines of communication and business open with Saudi Arabia. Outside the ornate hall of the forum, hushed conversations over coffee and dates, and a flurry of business cards were being exchanged among participants.

There was a strong showing from Russian, Asian and African nations at the forum.

Some $55 billion in agreements were pledged at the forum, much of that focused on Saudi Arabia's lucrative energy industry. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest exporters of oil, has the Arab world's largest economy and is a key emerging market.

Several participants in attendance from the U.S., including a California hedge fund manager and staff from a U.S. desalination company, declined to speak with The Associated Press at the forum, reflecting a general nervousness among the Americans in attendance.

"This experience has given everyone pause ... to stop, get our breath, take stock and then figure out the most appropriate way forward," David Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview with The Associated Press at the forum.

"At the end of the day, many American companies have stakeholders and shareholders to which they need to be very sensitive. So they will listen to those stakeholders and shareholders," Hamod said.

"But timing is everything. A fair number of U.S. companies didn't make the trip, as you know, and that's an issue of timing," he said, adding that he believes over the long-term the relationship will be "very positive."

The forum's subdued atmosphere received a jolt Tuesday when Prince Mohammed made a brief appearance and received a standing ovation from the audience. He was followed around by a crowd of mostly young Saudi men trying to catch an up-close glimpse of their country's most powerful prince. He even posed for selfies.

In the U.S., pressure continued to mount against Saudi Arabia's account of Khashoggi's killing.

"The cover-up was horrible. The execution was horrible," President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Tuesday night. "But there should have never been an execution or a cover-up because it should have never happened."

Trump later was asked about Prince Mohammed in an Oval Office interview with The Wall Street Journal.

"Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him," Trump told the newspaper.

Shortly after Trump's remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the United States was revoking the visas of some Saudi officials implicated in Khashoggi's death. The visa revocations are the Trump administration's first punitive measures against the Saudis, who are seen as key allies in U.S. efforts to isolate Iran, since Khashoggi disappeared.

The foreign ministers of the G7 group of nations said Saudi Arabia should conduct a credible investigation, "in full collaboration with the Turkish authorities."

Three days after Saudi Arabia acknowledged Khashoggi had been killed by Saudi agents at its consulate in Istanbul, King Salman and Prince Mohammed met with Khashoggi's son, Salah, and his brother, Sahel, at the Yamama Palace, where the royals expressed their condolences, according to state-run Saudi news.

A friend of the Khashoggi family told The Associated Press that Salah has been under a travel ban since last year. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

Manal Al-Sharif, a Saudi women's rights activist and a friend of Khashoggi, said he "was really assassinated for being outspoken."

"This is a new level the Saudi government is reaching," she said, adding that people inside the kingdom "are so afraid to speak up."

Al-Sharif, who was jailed in Saudi Arabia after getting behind a wheel before the kingdom's ban on women driving was lifted this year, spoke Wednesday in Denmark where she was promoting her book "Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman's Awakening."

Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Zarar Khan in Islamabad and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark; contributed to this report.</s>The killing of a journalist has abruptly transformed Saudi Arabia's crown prince from a partner to a liability in the eyes of Washington -- which nonetheless now enjoys more leverage over the ambitious heir apparent.

President Donald Trump had enthusiastically endorsed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's consolidation of power, with the 33-year-old forging a close, chatty relationship with Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

But amid outrage after Saudi Arabia admitted that US-based journalist and palace critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, the president has sounded betrayed and taken the initial step of restricting visas to Saudis involved in the killing.

Trump, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal published Wednesday, insulated 82-year-old King Salman from blame but pointedly did not shield the crown prince, known by his initials MBS.

"The crown prince -- he's running things, and so if anybody were going to be in, it would be him," Trump said.

While defending arms sales to Saudi Arabia on business grounds, Trump said: "Don't forget, if it wasn't for us, it could very well be that Saudi Arabia wouldn't last very long."

Martin Indyk, a top Middle East policymaker under former president Bill Clinton, said Trump had in effect tried to subcontract policy in the region to Saudi Arabia and Israel as he lessens US commitments.

But Indyk said Prince Mohammed had instead brought headaches for Washington -- not only Khashoggi's killing but Yemen, where the United States is backing a Saudi-led bombing campaign against Huthi rebels allegedly supported by Riyadh's regional rival Iran.

The United Nations describes Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 14 million people facing famine and about 10,000 people killed.

"Mohammed bin Salman needs Trump -- his very survival depends on Trump working with him," said Indyk, now at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"So we have the opportunity -- if we decide we're not going to ask the king to remove him discreetly -- to... sit down with him and say, listen, we can't go on like this," Indyk said.

"But I don't think Trump has any concept of the need to do that -- let alone how to do that -- and therefore I fear that Mohammed bin Salman will survive but he will continue on the path that only advantages Iran and gets the United States continuously into trouble," he said.

Joseph Bahout, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the crown prince will need to show he is tough at home but will face "constant blackmail" from abroad.

"It will play out, paradoxically, in very divergent directions. If MBS survives this crisis and he stays in power and becomes king, he will be a permanently weakened monarch but very fierce at the same time," Bahout said.

Prince Mohammed may attempt to show he is a solid US ally by taking an even harder line against Iran, enemy number one for the Trump administration, or, in a less likely scenario, by enacting liberal reforms, Bahout said.

But the heir apparent could also need to please Turkey, which has been leaking details about Khashoggi's murder.

Bahout said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could pressure Saudi Arabia to repair ties with Turkish ally Qatar, which is under an embargo from Gulf Arab states, or to ease pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood, which the kingdom has seen as a threat for its role in Arab Spring protests.

"So he will be subject to a whole range of demands and extortions, in ways that could contradict one another. And he will be in a difficult position," Bahout said.

Gary Grappo, a former US ambassador to Oman and deputy chief of mission in Riyadh, said that Mohammed had solidified power to a level where he is unlikely to be removed -- but that Western powers would be increasingly wary of him after Khashoggi's death.

"The taint of this will be very hard to scrub from the hands of Mohammed bin Salman -- most definitely in the short to medium term and perhaps, let's see, in the long term," said Grappo, a distinguished fellow at the University of Denver.

After decades of Saudi Arabia buying US weapons and enjoying Washington's protection, Grappo doubted that Saudi Arabia could easily switch to another supplier such as Russia or China.

"I think the balance is much more in our favor, which gives the president far more leverage to deal with this matter than he has let on," Grappo said.</s>Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, who is suspected of orchestrating the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, was reportedly baffled by why the journalist’s disappearance sparked such a backlash.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, who is suspected of orchestrating the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, was reportedly baffled by why the journalist’s disappearance sparked such a backlash.

WHEN news of Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance began making global headlines, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince had one distinct feeling. It wasn't fear. It wasn't remorse.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is suspected of orchestrating the murder of the 59-year-old Saudi journalist, was reportedly baffled by why his abrupt disappearance sparked such a backlash around the world.

When Turkish investigators began to reveal their findings and anger took hold of the community, the Saudi leader was so shocked that he called White House adviser Jared Kushner to have it explained to him, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the newspaper, bin Salman was perplexed and angry that the incident had escalated into a diplomatic crisis.

He called Mr Kushner - Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser on the Middle East - on October 10, eight days after Khashoggi went missing.

Why the outrage, the Prince asked in English. He couldn't understand why government officials and business leaders were now boycotting rather than praising him.

 The Saudi Government has detained 18 people in connection with Khashoggi's murder. Two senior officials, both close aides of the Prince, have lost their jobs.

International pressure continues to mount against bin Salman and the Saudis, with France, Germany, the UK and the US pushing for the truth to be revealed.

Numerous companies and prominent individuals around the world are now backing away from doing business with the kingdom.

Representatives from more than a dozen Western news outlets, including The New York Times, The Financial Times, Bloomberg and The Economist, have removed their media sponsorship and withdrawn from an upcoming international conference to be hosted by the Crown Prince, according to Axios.

At the same time, top tech executives are pulling away from the Neom project advisory board, an ambitious $700 billion project spruiked by the kingdom as a sustainable futuristic megacity.

 Apple's chief design officer Jony Ive, former US secretary of energy Ernest Moniz, Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff and former vice president of the European Commission for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes have all suspended their involvement in the project.

And Hollywood agency Endeavour Content is pulling out of a $560 million investment deal in the country, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Two inside sources said Mr Kushner urged bin Salman to get to the bottom of the journalist's disappearance as soon as possible.

"He was really shocked that there was such a big reaction to it," said a person close to the royal court. "He feels betrayed by the West. He said he would look elsewhere and he will never forget how people turned against him before evidence was produced."

Mr Kushner is close to the Crown Prince. According to CNN, they sometimes directly text on WhatsApp.

The White House adviser has been relatively quiet on the Khashoggi crisis, but a recent New York Times report claimed he was urging Mr Trump to stand by Saudi Arabia, believing the Prince's legacy could survive the storm of criticism.

In a subsequent interview with CNN's Van Jones, Mr Kushner revealed he urged the Crown Prince to be "fully transparent" about the death.

Asked what he told the Saudi leader during the phone chat, he said: "Just to be transparent, to be fully transparent. The world is watching. This is a very, very serious accusation and a very serious situation."

When asked if he thinks the Prince will listen to his advice, he said: "We'll see."

He also noted the US had its "eyes wide open" and said the country was not "reliant" on Saudi Arabia for its Middle East strategy.

"Right now as an administration, we're more in the fact-finding phase," he said. "Then we'll determine which facts are credible."

President Donald Trump has flipped between defending and hitting out at Saudi Arabia.

He initially warned the kingdom would face "severe punishment" if it was found to be involved in Khashoggi's murder, but later called for a presumption of innocence, comparing it to the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Yesterday, Mr Trump said US investigators were in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and that he'd know more about the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi's death in due time.

"I'm not satisfied with what I've heard," he said of the Saudi Government.

Mr Kushner defended the Mr Trump's stance. "The President is focused on what is good for America; what are our strategic interests," he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will reveal the details about what happened to slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi this week.

"We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth," President Erdogan told a rally in Istanbul.

Mr Erdogan said he will "go into detail" about the case, which has been veiled in mystery and scepticism as the world's powers demand a credible version of events.

Mr Erdogan is expected to deliver his findings to parliament at around 0800 GMT (6pm AEDT) today.</s>RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — In a fiery and unwavering appearance Wednesday at an investment forum, Saudi Arabia's crown prince called the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi "heinous" and "painful to all Saudis," before warning anyone against trying to "manipulate" the crisis and drive a wedge between the kingdom and Turkey.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was joined onstage by two Arab allies as he made his first extensive public remarks about the killing that has sparked widespread condemnation and marred his international standing after Turkish reports said a member of his entourage was involved in the crime.

Many international business leaders pulled out of the Future Investment Initiative, the kingdom's main economic forum, after the Oct. 2 killing of The Washington Post columnist inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

But in the forum's vast and ornate auditorium, thousands of people who did attend rose to their feet to applaud the 33-year-old heir whose strong showing underscored his reputation for being bold and assertive.

Prince Mohammed, who spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone before the forum, addressed the case immediately after taking the stage for a panel discussion, saying the Saudis were cooperating with Turkey on the Khashoggi investigation.

"The situation that took place is very painful to all Saudis, especially because it was a Saudi citizen. And I suspect it is painful to anyone in the whole world," Prince Mohammed said.

"It is a heinous act that is unjustifiable," he added, before cautioning anyone who might try "to manipulate the situation" and sow division between Riyadh and Ankara.

"I have a message for them: They will not be able to do that as long as there is a king called Salman bin Abdul-Aziz and a crown prince called Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi, and a president in Turkey called Erdogan," he said to applause.

Erdogan on Tuesday delivered a sharp rebuttal of Saudi Arabia's widely criticized account that the dissident writer died accidentally in a brawl, saying Saudi officials had planned the killing for days.

He kept up the pressure Wednesday, saying in Ankara: "We are determined not to allow the murder to be covered up and for those responsible — from the person who gave the order to those who executed it — not to escape justice."

Erdogan has said that 15 Saudi officials arrived in Istanbul shortly before Khashoggi's death and that a man, apparently dressed in the writer's clothes, acted as a possible decoy by walking out of the consulate on the day of the disappearance.

Turkish officials say the 15 men comprised a Saudi hit squad that included a member of Prince Mohammed's entourage on overseas trips. Saudi Arabia has suggested, without offering evidence, that the team went rogue. It has arrested 18 Saudis and fired five top officials, some of whom worked directly under the crown prince.

Turkish media have published a security camera image showing a vehicle belonging to the Saudi Consulate purportedly scouting a forest in the outskirts of Istanbul before the killing.

The killing of the 59-year-old Khashoggi has created an international firestorm as suspicion mounts that the crown prince had a hand in the killing.

"Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him," President Donald Trump was quoted telling the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

Khashoggi, who lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. for nearly a year before his death, had written critically of the young prince's crackdown on dissent. Dozens of Saudi activists, writers, clerics and even women who were behind calls for the right to drive have been detained.

King Salman and Prince Mohammed met Tuesday with Khashoggi's son, Salah, and his brother, Sahel, at the Yamama Palace, where the royals expressed their condolences, according to state-run Saudi news, which distributed photos of the event. A friend of the Khashoggi family told The Associated Press that Salah has been under a travel ban since last year. The individual spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal.

The crisis overshadowed the crown prince's high-profile economic forum, aimed at raising much needed investments to underwrite his plans to overhaul the Saudi economy.

After the killing, many international business leaders and Western officials pulled out of the forum, including the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Siemens and Blackrock. Western media outlets withdrew as partners for the event.

Instead, the forum spotlighted how the kingdom's regional allies have rushed to rally behind the crown prince.

On stage with him was Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who abruptly resigned his post last year during a strange visit to Saudi Arabia in which many people suspected that he was held against his will. Hariri returned to Lebanon and to his post later that year after French mediation and has visited Saudi Arabia and met with the crown prince since then.

The crown prince even joked about the incident at the forum, saying Hariri would be in Saudi Arabia this time for two days.

"So please, no one say that he is kidnapped," Prince Mohammed said, before turning to Hariri and pumping his hand as the crowd erupted in laughter.

The summit also drew Dubai's ruler, Jordan's king and Pakistan's prime minister. Pakistan, which is grappling with a soaring deficit, struck a deal on the sidelines of the forum with Saudi Arabia for $6 billion in aid from the oil-rich kingdom.

Some $55 billion in agreements were signed at the forum, much of that focused on the lucrative Saudi energy industry. Saudi Arabia is one of the world's largest exporters of oil, has the Arab world's largest economy and is a key emerging market.

Rather than cancel their participation altogether, some companies sent midlevel executives. Outside the hall, hushed conversations over coffee and dates took place, with a flurry of business cards exchanged.

Several participants from the U.S., including a California hedge fund manager and staff from a U.S. desalination company, declined to speak to the AP, reflecting a general nervousness among the Americans.

"This experience has given everyone pause ... to stop, get our breath, take stock and then figure out the most appropriate way forward," David Hamod, president and CEO of the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, told the AP.

"At the end of the day, many American companies have stakeholders and shareholders to which they need to be very sensitive. So they will listen to those stakeholders and shareholders," Hamod said.

"But timing is everything. A fair number of U.S. companies didn't make the trip, as you know, and that's an issue of timing," he said, adding that he believes the relationship will be "very positive" in the long term.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Zarar Khan in Islamabad; Malak Harb in Riyadh; and Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed.</s>Saudi Arabia's crown prince says his 'war' is restoring the Middle East to its past glory, not mentioning Yemen conflict

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia's crown prince says his 'war' is restoring the Middle East to its past glory, not mentioning Yemen conflict.</s>Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, who is suspected of orchestrating the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, was reportedly baffled by why the journalist’s disappearance sparked such a backlash.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, who is suspected of orchestrating the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, was reportedly baffled by why the journalist’s disappearance sparked such a backlash.

WHEN news of Jamal Khashoggi's disappearance began making global headlines, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince had one distinct feeling. It wasn't fear. It wasn't remorse.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is suspected of orchestrating the murder of the 59-year-old Saudi journalist, was reportedly baffled by why his abrupt disappearance sparked such a backlash around the world.

When Turkish investigators began to reveal their findings and anger took hold of the community, the Saudi leader was so shocked that he called White House adviser Jared Kushner to have it explained to him, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the newspaper, bin Salman was perplexed and angry that the incident had escalated into a diplomatic crisis.

He called Mr Kushner - Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser on the Middle East - on October 10, eight days after Khashoggi went missing.

Why the outrage, the Prince asked in English. He couldn't understand why government officials and business leaders were now boycotting rather than praising him.

 The Saudi Government has detained 18 people in connection with Khashoggi's murder. Two senior officials, both close aides of the Prince, have lost their jobs.

International pressure continues to mount against bin Salman and the Saudis, with France, Germany, the UK and the US pushing for the truth to be revealed.

Numerous companies and prominent individuals around the world are now backing away from doing business with the kingdom.

Representatives from more than a dozen Western news outlets, including The New York Times, The Financial Times, Bloomberg and The Economist, have removed their media sponsorship and withdrawn from an upcoming international conference to be hosted by the Crown Prince, according to Axios.

At the same time, top tech executives are pulling away from the Neom project advisory board, an ambitious $700 billion project spruiked by the kingdom as a sustainable futuristic megacity.

 Apple's chief design officer Jony Ive, former US secretary of energy Ernest Moniz, Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff and former vice president of the European Commission for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes have all suspended their involvement in the project.

And Hollywood agency Endeavour Content is pulling out of a $560 million investment deal in the country, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Two inside sources said Mr Kushner urged bin Salman to get to the bottom of the journalist's disappearance as soon as possible.

"He was really shocked that there was such a big reaction to it," said a person close to the royal court. "He feels betrayed by the West. He said he would look elsewhere and he will never forget how people turned against him before evidence was produced."

Mr Kushner is close to the Crown Prince. According to CNN, they sometimes directly text on WhatsApp.

The White House adviser has been relatively quiet on the Khashoggi crisis, but a recent New York Times report claimed he was urging Mr Trump to stand by Saudi Arabia, believing the Prince's legacy could survive the storm of criticism.

In a subsequent interview with CNN's Van Jones, Mr Kushner revealed he urged the Crown Prince to be "fully transparent" about the death.

Asked what he told the Saudi leader during the phone chat, he said: "Just to be transparent, to be fully transparent. The world is watching. This is a very, very serious accusation and a very serious situation."

When asked if he thinks the Prince will listen to his advice, he said: "We'll see."

He also noted the US had its "eyes wide open" and said the country was not "reliant" on Saudi Arabia for its Middle East strategy.

"Right now as an administration, we're more in the fact-finding phase," he said. "Then we'll determine which facts are credible."

President Donald Trump has flipped between defending and hitting out at Saudi Arabia.

He initially warned the kingdom would face "severe punishment" if it was found to be involved in Khashoggi's murder, but later called for a presumption of innocence, comparing it to the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Yesterday, Mr Trump said US investigators were in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, and that he'd know more about the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi's death in due time.

"I'm not satisfied with what I've heard," he said of the Saudi Government.

Mr Kushner defended the Mr Trump's stance. "The President is focused on what is good for America; what are our strategic interests," he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will reveal the details about what happened to slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi this week.

"We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth," President Erdogan told a rally in Istanbul.

Mr Erdogan said he will "go into detail" about the case, which has been veiled in mystery and scepticism as the world's powers demand a credible version of events.

Mr Erdogan is expected to deliver his findings to parliament at around 0800 GMT (6pm AEDT) today.
U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledges that the Saudi Arabia crown prince "could have been" involved in the killing of Khashoggi, noting that "the prince is running things over there".