Riyadh -Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman left Thursday on a visit to”brotherly Arab countries”, state media reported, his first official tripabroad since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Prince Mohammed will visit a “number of” Arab states at the request of hisfather, King Salman, the royal court said in a statement carried by theSaudi Press Agency.

Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported that Prince Mohammed will makehis first stop in close ally the United Arab Emirates.

Riyadh has come under increased international pressure after the killing ofWashington Post contributor Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate on October2.

The Saudi journalist, a former court insider turned critic of PrinceMohammed, was killed and dismembered in what the kingdom said was a “rogue”operation.

Turkey´s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could meet with the crown prince onthe sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina next week, according toTurkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

Erdogan has said the order to murder Khashoggi came from “the highestlevels” of the Saudi government but has stopped short of directly blamingPrince Mohammed.

Saudi authorities are seeking the death penalty against five men over thekilling, but attention remains focused on the crown prince despite anofficial insistence that he was not involved. – APP / AFP