Tillerson and Saudi counterpart discuss fight against corruption

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has spoken to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir about the situation in Saudi Arabia, where a crackdown on corruption has led to dozens of arrests, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

In his conversation with Jubeir, Nauert said, Tillerson urged that the Saudi government conduct any corruption prosecutions “in a fair and transparent manner.”

State Department spokeswoman also said the U.S. charge d‘affaires in Riyadh met on Wednesday with Saad al-Hariri, who resigned as Lebanese prime minister while in Saudi Arabia.

She described the talks as “sensitive, private, diplomatic conversations," Reuters reported.

Saudi authorities have arrested dozens of royal family members, officials and businessmen in the anti-corruption crackdown that began on Saturday. They face charges ranging from money-laundering to extortion.