Theresa May has promised to deliver a “robust” message to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi when she meets him at the G20 summit.
The face-to-face meeting in Argentina today is likely to prove the most difficult encounter of the two-day summit of major economies for the Prime Minister, who will also raise the issue of the war in Yemen
The UK has issued demands for a transparent and credible investigation into the death last month of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
May has faced calls to halt arms sales to the UK’s traditional ally in the Gulf.
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Amnesty International UK’s director Kate Allen said she should use her meeting with the Crown Prince to “politely but firmly insist that only a UN investigation into the grisly murder of Jamal Khashoggi is going to be sufficient”.
Speaking to Sky News ahead of the meeting, May said: “I am going to speak to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia but it is the relationship we have with Saudi Arabia that enables me to sit down with him and be robust on our views on two issues.
“First of all the terrible killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and the message I will be giving and the message we have given from the UK from the time it happened is that the Saudi Arabians need to ensure that their investigation is a full investigation, that it is credible, that it is transparent and that people can have confidence in the outcome of it and that those responsible are held to account.
She added: “But I will also be raising the situation in the Yemen where the humanitarian crisis is getting worse, we are very concerned about that.”
Picture: Reuters/Marcos Brindicci
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