Turkey dismissed comments from Donald Trump on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul as "comic", as the United States President took his public praise of Saudi Arabia a step further by publicly thanking the country for plunging oil prices.

Key points: Turkey says "not credible" that the CIA would not know who ordered the killing

Turkey says "not credible" that the CIA would not know who ordered the killing Trump appears focused on economic benefits of remaining close to the Saudis

Trump appears focused on economic benefits of remaining close to the Saudis He has been roundly criticised by Republicans, Democrats and foreign governments alike

Mr Trump has vowed to remain a "steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia, despite saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may have known about the plan to murder to Mr Khashoggi, a US resident and Washington Post columnist.

On the possibility Prince Mohammed had a hand in the murder, Mr Trump yesterday said: "Maybe he did, maybe he didn't".

His comments contradicted the CIA, which believes Khashoggi's death was ordered directly by the Crown Prince, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy chairman of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, dismissed Mr Trump's assessment.

"Yesterday's statement is a comic statement," he told the Turkish state broadcaster.

"It is not possible for an intelligence agency such as the CIA, which even knows the colour of the fur on the cat walking around the Saudi consulate's garden … to not know who gave this order," he said.

"This is not credible either for US public opinion or the world public opinion."

Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. ( AP: Hasan Jamali, file )

Trump praises Saudis for cheap oil

Mr Trump made it clear in an exclamation-filled statement that he feels that the benefits of good relations with Saudi Arabia outweigh the possibility its Crown Prince ordered the killing.

Just a day after he was harshly criticised for deciding not to further punish the kingdom, he tweeted that it's "Great!" that oil prices are falling.

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He quickly followed the tweet with his catchphrase: "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

The international crude benchmark has fallen under $89 per barrel from a four-year high of more than $118 in early October as the US, Saudi Arabia and Russia have stepped up output.

The US earlier sanctioned 17 Saudi officials suspected of being responsible for or complicit in the October 2 killing, but members of Congress have called for harsher actions, including ending arms sales.

Mr Trump said "foolishly cancelling these contracts" worth billions of dollars would only benefit Russia and China, which would be next in line to supply the weapons.

Critics, including high-ranking officials in other countries, denounced Mr Trump's statement, saying he ignored human rights and granted Saudi Arabia a pass for economic reasons.

Asked by a reporter if he was saying that human rights are too expensive to fight for, Mr Trump responded, "No, I'm not saying that at all."

But he preferred to focus on Iran rather than any actions by Saudi Arabia.

The US needs a "counterbalance" to Iran, "and Israel needs help, too," he said.

"If we abandon Saudi Arabia, it would be a terrible mistake."

Critics at home and abroad

Mr Trump was roundly criticised by Democrats, but some Republicans weighed in against him, too.

Republican senator Rand Paul said the Trump administration has "blinders on" in comparing Iran and Saudi Arabia, and said Mr Trump showed weakness in not standing up to Saudi Arabia.

Senator Bob Corker, an outspoken Republican who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, tweeted:

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Iran's Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, mocked Mr Trump's announcement, tweeting that Mr Trump "bizarrely devotes the FIRST paragraph of his shameful statement on Saudi atrocities to accuse IRAN of every sort of malfeasance he can think of".

Mr Zarif went on to joke that "perhaps we're also responsible for the California fires, because we didn't help rake the forests — just like the Finns do?"

He appeared to be referring Mr Trump's recent remarks suggesting that raking the forest floor prevented fires in Finland and would have helped to prevent California's devastating wildfires.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey's Foreign Minister, said Mr Khashoggi's death should not be covered up for the sake of maintaining trade ties with Saudi Arabia.

"It concerns a murder," Mr Cavusoglu said.

"It is not possible to say, 'Our trade will increase. Let's cover this up. Let's ignore it.'"

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