File photo: Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman
A Russian delegation of senior foreign and defense ministries officials met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the Syrian crisis, the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry said the Russian delegation was in Saudi Arabia on October 14 and 15.
Saudi Arabia's stock index fell 3.8 percent in the opening minutes of trade on Tuesday, largely reversing its 4.1 percent rebound on Monday.The market has been volatile for several days because of concern that international outrage over the disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi could hurt inflows of foreign investment. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss the affair. Saudi riyal rebounds on report Riyadh to acknowledge Khashoggi death
Saudi stock index falls nearly 4 percent in opening minutes
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday arrived in Saudi capital Riyadh for talks on the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.Pompeo “was greeted by Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, [Saudi] Ambassador to the U.S. Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Director of Protocol Ambassador Azzam al-Qain,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.Following his scheduled meeting with Saudi King Salman, Pompeo will visit Turkey on Wednesday to meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.Video: Trump sends Pompeo to Riyadh over KhashoggiOn Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Pompeo was being dispatched to meet the Saudi king to discuss the disappearance of Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for the Washington Post newspaper.Khashoggi has long been feared killed at the consulate after he entered on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.Trump raised the possibility that "rogue killers" could have been responsible for Khashoggi's disappearance after speaking over the telephone with Saudi King Salman for 20 minutes on Monday. US Secretary of State to have dinner with Saudi crown princeTrump said Salman "firmly denies" any knowledge of Khashoggi's disappearance.Earlier on Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials arrived at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe into the missing journalist.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.Saudi riyal rebounds on report Riyadh to acknowledge Khashoggi deathSaudi embassy cancels National Day celebration in USPompeo to visit Turkey after Riyadh over Khashoggi
US Secretary of state arrives in Riyadh to discuss Khashoggi case
Saudi Arabia's riyal rebounded against the U.S. dollar early on Tuesday after CNN reported Riyadh was preparing to acknowledge the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a botched interrogation.The riyal, which had sunk to a two-year low of 3.7526 against the U.S. dollar on Monday because of concern that Khashoggi's disappearance could hurt foreign investment in Saudi Arabia, recovered to 3.7514.The riyal is pegged at 3.75 to the dollar and moves outside a 3.7498-3.7503 range are rare.Saudi embassy cancels National Day celebration in USIn the one-year forwards market, used by banks to hedge against possible future moves of the currency, the dollar dropped to 50 points against the riyal -- returning to the range of the last few months -- from Monday's high of 100 points.Citing two unidentified sources, CNN said Riyadh was preparing a report acknowledging Khashoggi was killed as the result of an interrogation that went wrong. The New York Times, citing a person familiar with Saudi plans, reported the Saudi government would blame an intelligence official for a bungled operation.Blaming Khashoggi's case on mistakes by lower-level personnel would allow the Saudi government to say it never sanctioned his disappearance, and could help to reduce international outrage over the affair, a banker in the Gulf said. Pompeo to visit Turkey after Riyadh over KhashoggiTeams probing Saudi journalist's disappearance leave Istanbul consulateSaudi Arabia to admit Khashoggi was killed: report
Saudi riyal rebounds on report Riyadh to acknowledge Khashoggi death
The Saudi Embassy in Washington canceled its annual celebration of the country's National Day, according to multiple reports Monday.The embassy reportedly sent an email to attendees saying the event, originally scheduled for Thursday was canceled, but did not give a reason.Saudi National Day is a holiday in Saudi Arabia that celebrates the renaming of the country by King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud in 1932.The move comes amid outcry about the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul Oct. 2.Also on Oct. 2, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while Khashoggi was also inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.On Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials arrived at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul for a joint probe of into Khashoggi.Teams probing Saudi journalist's disappearance leave Istanbul consulateSaudi Arabia to admit Khashoggi was killed: report
Saudi embassy cancels National Day celebration in US