SAUDI ARABIA’S crown prince denounced Wednesday the “repulsive” murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and vowed justice will prevail, in his first public comments on the case, without addressing U.S. accusations of a monumental cover-up.

After phoning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which triggered a diplomatic crisis, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged there would be “no rupture” in ties with Ankara.

“The incident was very painful for all Saudis, it’s a repulsive incident and no one can justify it,” Prince Mohammed said during an address to the Future Investment Initiative forum in Riyadh.

“Those responsible will be held accountable ... in the end justice will prevail,” the heir apparent to the Saudi throne said in Arabic.

The prince, faced with mounting international censure, appeared relaxed and occasionally joked as he shared the stage with Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Hariri and Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad.

Three weeks since Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen living in self-imposed exile, disappeared after walking into the consulate to obtain marriage documents, the crisis shows no sign of abating.

Washington, a long-time ally of Riyadh, moved late Tuesday to revoke the visas of several Saudis. Britain followed suit Wednesday as France said it was ready to back international sanctions against those responsible.

(SD-Agencies)