Could Saudi Arabia use oil as a weapon in missing journalist case?
Could the embattled Saudi Arabian regime use its powerful grip on the oil trade to weed its way out of a missing journalist case?
The case has gripped the world since the news that a Saudi journalist and a critic of the Saudi Arabian regime, Jamal Khashoggi, was missing.
The journalist is said to have entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey but never came out.
Later, CCTV recordings – perhaps leaked by Turkish intelligentsia to the media – purportedly show a black Mercedes van leaving the compound.
The local media in Turkey, playing the full anti-Saudi game, invented a story saying the journalist was killed.
The murder, they say, was recorded on his iPhone through his Apple watch. But experts are disputing that, saying it would be a difficult task.
Now Saudi Arabia is threatening to use its investment capabilities, purchasing power and its grip on the oil trade.
The aim is to tell the world to be more considerate in the missing journalist case. This is the message from Ryadh.
Saudi Arabia said on Sunday that it rejects any threats and attempts to undermine it.
It would respond with “greater action” to any sanctions or action taken against the Kingdom, state news agency SPA has reported.
“Whether by waving economic sanctions, using political pressure, or repeating false accusations that will undermine the Kingdom.”
“The government and the people are steadfast, dear as ever, no matter what the circumstances and whatever the pressure is.”
It said that if action was taken against the Kingdom “it will respond with greater action.”
The statement added: “The Kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy.”
This is the statement in full:
An official source stated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and from its leading position in the Arab and Islamic worlds has played a prominent role throughout history in achieving security, stability and prosperity of the region and the world, leading efforts in combating extremism and terrorism, enhancing economic cooperation and consolidating peace and stability in the region and the world and it is still working with brotherly and friendly countries to promote these goals, basing all of this on its own status as a platform of revelation, and the birthplace of Islam.
The kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures, or repeating false accusations that will not undermine the Kingdom and its staunch positions and Arab, Islamic and international status, the outcome of these weak endeavors, like their predecessors, is a demise.
The Kingdom as the government and people are steadfast, glorious as ever, no matter whatever the pressures and circumstances might be.
The Kingdom also affirms that if it receives any action, it will respond with greater action, and that the Kingdom’s economy has an influential and vital role in the global economy and that the Kingdom’s economy is affected only by the impact of the global economy.
The Kingdom appreciates the brothers’ stand in the face of the campaign of false allegations and falsehoods, as well as it appreciates the voices of the wise people around the world, who have overcome wisdom, deliberation and the search for truth instead of rushing and seeking to exploit rumors and accusations to achieve goals and agendas unrelated to the search for truth.