France does not rule out the possibility of imposing sanctions on Saudi Arabia if Riyadh's alleged involvement in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is confirmed, French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Wednesday.
MOSCOW/PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th October, 2018) France does not rule out the possibility of imposing sanctions on Saudi Arabia if Riyadh's alleged involvement in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is confirmed, French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said Wednesday.
"On the other hand, when our authorities confirm [the facts of the incident] and if Saudi Arabia's responsibility is proved, we will draw conclusions and adopt sanctions," the representative told a briefing, adding that the facts of the case had not been clarified yet.
French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly said earlier in the day that France would wait for the results of the investigation before making any decisions on delivery of arms to Saudi Arabia.
"As for arms deliveries, we will wait for the results of the probe. We need facts, we need them to be established. And, trust me, when the facts have been established, we will draw conclusions," Parly said, as quoted by the BFMTV broadcaster.
The journalist was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Following more than two weeks of denials, Saudi Arabia admitted on Friday that the journalist had been killed in a brawl inside the consulate. According to Riyadh, 18 people have been arrested over their involvement in the incident. Turkey is conducting a separate investigation into the journalist's death.
