Saudi Arabia’s new foreign minister struck a note of defiance Friday in the face of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, denying the kingdom was in crisis and that his predecessor had been demoted. Ibrahim al-Assaf, a former veteran finance minister who was briefly detained last year in what Riyadh said was an anti-corruption sweep, replaced Adel al-Jubeir as foreign minister in a major government shake-up on Thursday ordered by King Salman. “But all in all, we are not going through a crisis, we are going through a transformation,” he added, referring to social and economic reforms spearheaded by the crown prince. “Adel represented Saudi Arabia and will continue to represent Saudi Arabia… around the world,” Assaf said. The top crude exporter, facing a sharp fall in oil prices, is scrambling to restore confidence in foreign investors rattled by a series of what many see as rash foreign policy decisions.

Source: Egypt Independent December 29, 2018 08:48 UTC