WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2018) Saudi Arabia has made progress in advancing human rights amid criticism regarding the killing of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the United States' response to the murder, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview on Wednesday.
"We are going to make sure that America always stands for human rights. We've watched the Saudis actually move in that direction during our time in office as well," Pompeo said. "It's not an unblemished record, but there certainly have been steps forward."
On Tuesday, Trump said the United States would remain Saudi Arabia's steadfast partner, adding that calls by US lawmakers and pundits to cancel arms contracts or otherwise degrade relations with the desert kingdom will benefit Russia and China and will bring the oil price to $150 per barrel.
However, the Trump administration has sanctioned 17 Saudi nationals who were allegedly involved in the murder of Khashoggi.
Khashoggi went missing on October 2, after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh initially denied any knowledge of Khashoggi's whereabouts, but admitted later that he was died inside the consulate.
On November 15, the Saudi Prosecutor General's Office said that Khashoggi was killed with a drug injection and his body had been dismembered and taken out of the consulate, adding that a total of 21 people had been detained in relation to murder.
