US envoy Haley calls on Bin Salman to drop ‘thuggish nature’

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “has to lose the thuggish nature in which he has been acting”, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Tuesday.

Speaking to journalists, Haley added that Bin Salman has been “careless at times”.

In comments that are more robust than those uttered against the crown prince by US President Donald Trump, Haley added: “First and foremost, [the crown prince] owes us some accountability for what happened to [Jamal] Khashoggi. Without question.”

Saudi journalist Khashoggi was last seen walking in to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 October. It was later revealed that he was brutally murdered in a “premeditated” attack by the crown prince’s senior aides.

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Haley went on to suggest that how the prince addresses the aftermath of Khashoggi’s murder will be “a defining moment” for his leadership. But noted that he has “a lot of good ideas” and “wants to change with the times.”

Since Khashoggi’s murder US President Trump has expressed his unstinting support for Saudi Arabia on numerous occasions and claimed there was “nothing definitive” linking the crown prince to the murder. He has repeated that America is selling weapons to Saudi and this is a deal which is benefiting the US economy and that is the priority.

However Trump has also said that Saudi authorities staged the “worst cover-up ever” in the killing of the prominent journalist and revoked the visas of some of those believed to be responsible.

READ: Trump and Bin Salman, with Israel in between