U.S. president Donald Trump said that he would have “a very strong opinion” to offer next week on the killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Washington Post reported.
Trump’s comment came in response to a question during a news conference at which he offered his take on Tuesday’s midterm elections. Trump was asked whether he believed Saudi Arabia is guilty of having Khashoggi killed.
Trump called Khashoggi’s death a “very sad thing, very terrible thing” and said he was consulting with Congress on how to respond.
“I’ll have a much stronger opinion on that subject over the next week,” Trump said. “I’m forming a very strong opinion.”
Khashoggi, a Saudi who was a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
The government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tried to prod Saudi leaders to acknowledge what he says is their role in the death. The Saudi government refused to comment for weeks but, in the face of international outrage, finally conceded that Khashoggi was killed in their consulate, even as they blamed it on rogue Saudi agents.