US report on journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder expected 'soon': White House

A US intelligence report on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul will be out "soon," the White House said Wednesday.

Press Secretary Jen Psaki said that President Joe Biden was also "soon" due to speak with Saudi Arabia's King Salman.

Psaki would not confirm a report in Axios that the Biden call with Salman would take place Wednesday and that the unclassified intelligence report would be published Thursday.

Khashoggi, a Saudi who wrote for The Washington Post and was a US resident, was killed and dismembered in 2018 inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The CIA has directly linked Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder. He has accepted overall responsibility, as his country's leader, but denies a personal link.

Since taking over the presidency in January Biden has stressed he will "recalibrate" the US relationship with Saudi Arabia.

This will mean steering away from former president Donald Trump's reliance on Prince Mohammed and dealing directly with the king, the White House says.

© 2021 AFP