U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo faced a tough balancing act yesterday as he pressed Saudi Arabia’s crown prince over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder while seeking to shore up strategic ties with Riyadh.

The top U.S. diplomat, on an extensive Middle East tour, held talks with King Salman and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who faces international opprobrium over the journalist’s murder inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Pompeo walked a diplomatic tightrope on his second politically sensitive visit to Saudi Arabia since the grisly killing, amid pressure from American lawmakers for a tough response.

The king and crown prince “both acknowledge that this accountability needs to take place,” Pompeo said in Riyadh following talks with the two men.

“They reiterated their commitment,” he added.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, was murdered Oct. 2 in what Saudi Arabia called a “rogue” operation, tipping the kingdom into one of its worst diplomatic crises and subsequently straining ties between Riyadh and Washington.

Pompeo was pushing for Saudi Arabia to “ascertain facts, assess information, and hold those responsible accountable” for the murder, the State Department said Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump has brushed aside international outrage to stand by Prince Mohammed over the murder of Khashoggi, whose corpse was dismembered at the consulate.

His support has come despite the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s reported conclusion that Prince Mohammed very likely ordered the murder. A bipartisan resolution approved by the U.S. Senate last month also held the crown prince responsible for the killing.

Riyadh prosecutors have announced indictments against 11 people and are seeking the death penalty against five of them. But they have exonerated Prince Mohammed, whose right-hand aides were allegedly involved in the murder.

(SD-Agencies)