BEIRUT, Lebanon — Saudi Arabia lashed out on Monday at the United States Senate for holding the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, personally responsible for the murder of a Saudi dissident in Istanbul, warning against interference in what it called the kingdom’s internal affairs. The unusually strong statement aimed at a branch of the United States government was the kingdom’s first response to a Senate resolution passed last week that blames Prince Mohammed for the death and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. It was also the kingdom’s latest attempt to manage the damage the killing has done to its decades-old alliance with the United States. The Oct. 2 murder of Mr. Khashoggi by Saudi agents has prompted the most serious crisis in U.S.-Saudi relations in more than a decade, pushing a range of American officials to call for limits on American military cooperation or arms sales to the kingdom.

Source: New York Times December 17, 2018 13:29 UTC