Hawzah News Agency - (Osaka - Japan) - US President Donald Trump has praised Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for doing what he calls “a spectacular job,” turning a blind eye to a new report that holds him liable for the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In his opening remarks before a meeting with bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on Saturday, Trump called the Saudi crown prince "a friend” who had worked to open up the kingdom with reforms.

“It's an honor to be with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, a friend of mine, a man who has really done things in the last five years in terms of opening up Saudi Arabia,” the US president said.

“I want to just thank you on behalf of a lot of people, and I want to congratulate you. You've done, really, a spectacular job,” he added.

Meanwhile, Trump did not raise the case of Khashoggi, a late but vocal critic of bin Salman, who was hacked to death and his body was dismembered by a Saudi hit squad after being lured into the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on October 2, 2018.

Last week, a UN report found that there is "sufficient credible evidence" bin Salman bears responsibility for the murder and he should be investigated for it.

Trump further claimed that Saudi Arabia had “stopped” sponsoring terror.

“For a long time there were questions as to whether or not Saudi Arabia and other countries were sponsoring terror,” Trump said. “You have absolutely stopped and I really appreciate that and the world really appreciates it.”