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Saudi cabinet reshuffle purely cosmetic: Author

Friday, 28 December 2018 5:46 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 28 December 2018 11:40 AM ]

A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on December 9, 2018, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) speaking with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the Diriya Palace in the Saudi capital Riyadh during the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit. (Photo by AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s royal family has decided to reshuffle the cabinet in order to bring in officials more loyalist to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, says a commentator.

King Salman on Thursday demoted Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in a major reshuffle, which included changes to key national security posts amid fallout from the murder of a dissident journalist.

Bin Salman has been widely accused of the October 2 killing of Jamal Khashoggi after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

In an interview with Press TV on Friday, Kevin Barrett, author and political commentator, said that “this reshuffle is purely cosmetic.”

According to the analyst, new Foreign Minister Ibrahim “al-Assaf is of anything closer to bin Salman than his predecessor and likewise the so-called reshuffle actually is of anything making the Saudi cabinet even more top-heavy with bin Salman loyalists than it was before.”

“Essentially bin Salman who is under fire at every level is circling the wagons. He is hoping that he will be able to weather the storm following the Khashoggi murder by bringing in the most obtuse loyalists,” Barrett argued.