RIYADH – Saudi Arabia’s new foreign minister voiced defiance Friday in theface of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder,rejecting the kingdom was in crisis and his predecessor was demoted.
“The issue of Jamal Khashoggi… really saddened us, all of us,” Ibrahimal-Assaf told AFP, a day after he was appointed foreign minister in agovernment reshuffle.
“But all in all, we are not going through a crisis, we are going through atransformation,” he added, referring to social and economic reformsspearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The prince, heir to the Saudi throne, has faced intense internationalscrutiny over the October 2 murder of journalist Khashoggi in the kingdom’sIstanbul consulate — which critics say has left the oil-rich Gulf nationdiplomatically weakened.
Assaf, a former finance minister who was detained last year in what Riyadhsaid was an anti-corruption sweep, replaced Adel al-Jubeir as foreignminister in the sweeping government shake-up ordered by King Salman.
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Jubeir, who sought to defend the tainted government internationally afterKhashoggi’s murder, was appointed minister of state for foreign affairs,which was widely seen as a demotion.
“This is far from the truth,” Assaf said.
“Adel represented Saudi Arabia and will continue to represent SaudiArabia… around the world. We complement each other.” – APP/AFP
