Saudi King briefs Putin on Khashoggi murder investigation

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the investigation into the murder of dissident Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, as the two leaders spoke on the phone, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The King told Putin that the Saudi government was determined to make sure that those responsible will “receive their punishment,” it said. The Kremlin website confirmed that the conversation took place, adding that it was initiated by the Saudi side. After weeks of denial, Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh claimed that the Washington Post columnist died during an interrogation gone wrong, but unnamed officials cited by the Turkish media said that a team of Saudi assassins came for the 59-year-old and dismembered him while he was still alive.