Saudi crown prince vows to punish 'culprit' responsible for Kashoggi's murder

The Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has vowed to punish all the "culprits" responsible for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.

While speaking at a business forum in Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman said "the crime was painful to all Saudis" but he would never allow any rift with Turkey.

Earlier, Saudi authorities have denied accusations that the prince, the de facto ruler, had a role in the killing.

A critic of the crown prince, Jamal Khashoggi died during a October 2 visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The Saudi government has blamed the murder on "rogue agents".

These were his first public comments since the Saudis admitted Khashoggi had been killed at the Istanbul consulate.

He said the killing was "a heinous crime that cannot be justified" and vowed that "those behind this crime will be held accountable, in the end justice will prevail".

He said there had been good co-operation with Turkey, "A lot of people are trying to seize this painful situation to create a rift between Saudi Arabia and Turkey," he said. And I want to send them a message, you will never be able to do that.

"The rift will never be there," he added.