Saudi Arabia has promised a "full" investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis has said following talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
"We discussed it... the need of transparency, full and complete investigation. Full agreement from FM Jubeir, no reservations at all," Mr Mattis told reporters following the talks.
Mr Mattis warned the Saudi kingdom during the talks that the murder attributed to the Saudi authorities risked destabilising the region.
"No reservations at all. He said we need to know what happened and it was very collaborative, in agreement," the Pentagon chief said.
Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, 59, who had criticised the kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States since 2017.
He was murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to obtain paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancée.
Gruesome reports have alleged that the Washington Post columnist was killed and dismembered by a team sent from Saudi Arabia to silence him.
After weeks of denials, Riyadh has sought to draw a line under the crisis with an investigation.
Prince Mohammed, heir to the Saudi throne, publicly denounced the murder as "repulsive", while the Saudi prosecutor acknowledged for the first time this week that based on the evidence of a Turkish investigation the killing had been "premeditated".
But Riyadh dismissed Ankara's calls to extradite 18 Saudis being held over Mr Khashoggi's murder, as Washington warned the crisis risked destabilising the Middle East.
Addressing a forum in Manama, Mr Mattis warned that "the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all greatly".
"Failure of any nation to adhere to international norms and the rule of law undermines regional stability at a time when it is needed most," he stressed.
The murder has sparked a wave of international criticism and affected Washington's relations with the kingdom.
The United States relies heavily on Saudi Arabia to counter Iran's influence in the region and to defend the security of Israel.
Mr Mattis did not have a formal bilateral meeting with Mr Jubeir on the sidelines of the Manama forum, where he met with several Arab and European leaders.
The two men spoke at a dinner gathering of all the ministers.
