MONITORING DESK
\nRIYADH
\nSaudi Arabia\u2019s new foreign minister struck a note of defiance Friday in the face of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi\u2019s murder, denying the kingdom was in crisis and that his predecessor had been demoted.
\nIbrahim 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.
\nThe surprise reshuffle was seen partly as an attempt to elevate the kingdom\u2019s marginalised old guard, adding a veneer of checks and balances to the policy decisions of 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who faces intense global scrutiny over the October 2 murder of journalist Khashoggi.
\nBut speaking to AFP in his first interview since his appointment, Assaf insisted the restructuring was motivated not by the Khashoggi affair, but the need to make the government machinery more efficient.
\n\u201cThe issue of Jamal Khashoggi\u2026 really saddened us, all of us,\u201d Assaf told AFP at his residence in Riyadh, adorned with mahogany furniture, a wall-mounted elephant tusk and other hunting trophies.
\n\u201cBut all in all, we are not going through a crisis, we are going through a transformation,\u201d he added, referring to social and economic reforms spearheaded by the crown prince.
\nAssaf, 69, inherits the ministry after a series of combative foreign policy moves by the crown prince, who along with regional allies imposed a blockade on neighbouring Qatar, launched a military campaign in Yemen and engaged in a bitter diplomatic row with Canada.
\nTopping it all, Khashoggi\u2019s murder in Saudi Arabia\u2019s Istanbul consulate by what it calls \u2018rogue\u2019 agents is testing relations with key ally Washington, particularly after a US Senate resolution recently held Prince Mohammed responsible for the killing.
\nWhen asked whether his biggest foreign policy challenge was to repair the kingdom\u2019s tarnished reputation, Assaf replied: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say \u2018repair\u2019 because the relationship between my country and a vast majority of countries in the world is in excellent shape.\u201d
\nBefore him, Jubeir also sought to vigorously defend the government and the crown prince, widely known as MBS, on the international stage over Khashoggi\u2019s murder.
\nIn Thursday\u2019s reshuffle, Jubeir was appointed minister of state for foreign affairs, fuelling speculation that he had been demoted after he failed to quell global criticism over Khashoggi. \u201cThis is far from the truth,\u201d Assaf said.
\nJubeir\u2019s new role, he insisted, was tantamount to a division of labour and not a demotion, in a bid to accelerate the task of remaking a ministry known to be overly bureaucratic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MONITORING DESK RIYADH Saudi Arabia\u2019s new foreign minister struck a note of defiance Friday in the face of international outrage over critic Jamal Khashoggi\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n