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Response to Saudi journalist’s death must be based on verified information, says Kremlin

The Kremlin stresses that any reaction to the incident with Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi must be based on verified information
Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis
Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul
© AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis

MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/.Any reaction to the incident with Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi must be based on verified information, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"One needs to have verified information about the incident with the journalist to react to it," he said, adding that Moscow had taken notice of Riyadh’s statement on its royal family’s non-involvement in the incident.

"So, it is an investigation issue and only official and verified information matters," he stressed

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known critic of Saudi Arabia's current policy, left his home country and moved to the United States in 2017. There the journalist wrote articles for The Washington Post, analyzing the situation in Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom's foreign policy, in addition to criticizing Riyadh

On October 2, Khashoggi arrived at the Saudi diplomatic mission in Istanbul to complete routine paperwork needed to marry a Turkish national but had vanished from that point on. Several media reported that the journalist had been killed in the consulate's building. Turkish police launched an investigation into his disappearance several days after.

On October 20, Saudi Arabia's Public Prosecutor Saud Al-Moajab declared the death of the journalist. He noted that Khashoggi died after a conflict had erupted in the consulate.