The United States welcomed the details of Saudi Arabia’s investigation into the murder of Jamal Khashoggi as a “good first step” on Thursday, arabnews.com reports.
The comments came as a host of countries responded positively to a briefing from the Kingdom’s public prosecution that said it had identified 21 suspects in the killing of the Saudi journalist at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last month.
The prosecution on Thursday called for five people to receive the death penalty as it revealed the details of the investigation so far.
“We regard the announcement that they made as a good first step, it's a step in the right direction,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
“It is an initial investigation finding. It is important that those steps continue to be taken toward full accountability.”