Saudi Arabia has 'nothing to do' with Jeff Bezos dispute
Dubai: Saudi Arabia had "absolutely nothing to do" with the National Enquirer's reporting on an extramarital relationship involving Amazon.com Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, the kingdom's minister of state for foreign affairs said.
Bezos last week accused the Enquire's owner, American Media, of trying to blackmail him with the threat of publishing "intimate photos" he allegedly sent to his girlfriend unless he said in public that the US tabloid's reporting on him was not politically motivated.
In a blog post, he alluded to Saudi Arabia's displeasure at the Bezos-owned Washington Post's coverage of the murder of its columnist and Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
He also referenced media reports about alleged links between AMI and Saudi Arabia.
"This is something between the two parties, we have nothing to do with it," Adel al-Jubeir told CBS' Face the Nation when asked if the Saudi government was involved in the Enquirer leaks.
"It sounds to me like a soap opera," he said in an interview to be aired on Sunday, excerpts of which were posted on CBS' website. Jubeir said he was not aware of any links between the Saudi government and AMI or its CEO David Pecker.
AMI said on Friday its reporting on Bezos was lawful and it would investigate his claims.
The killing of Khashoggi at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last October strained Saudi Arabia's ties with Western allies, exposed the kingdom to possible sanctions and tarnished the image of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Meanwhile, a top aide who reportedly heard the prince threaten to use "a bullet" on Khashoggi a year before the murder was sworn in on Sunday as the kingdom's new ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
Turki Aldakhil, a former general manager of Al Arabiya television, was sworn in by King Salman along with other new ambassadors, state-run SPA news agency reported.
The prince reportedly told Aldakhil that he'd use that bullet if Khashoggi didn't return to the kingdom and stop criticising the government from his perch in the US.
The New York Times, citing unidentified current and former US intelligence officials, said the 2017 conversation was intercepted by US spy agencies. Aldakhil denied the allegation in a statement to the newspaper.
Khashoggi, an insider-turned-critic of the Saudi ruling regime, was killed and dismembered by people close to the crown prince after entering to pick up documents for his wedding. Saudi Arabia has said the crown prince, who is the kingdom's 33-year-old de facto ruler, was not aware of any plan to kill him.
Reuters