(Bloomberg) -- French President Emmanuel Macron is holding off on a response to the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying more facts are needed and he plans to talk to the kingdom’s leaders.

“The facts are serious, very serious, and I am waiting for the truth and for clarity to be established,” Macron told broadcaster RFI on Friday during a visit to Armenia. “The first elements are extremely worrying.”

France has never put economic interests ahead of political interests, Macron said when asked how he plans to handle the situation with Saudi Arabia. He said he’ll be discussing the case with King Salman, Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

READ MORE: Trump Has Spoken With Saudis at ‘Highest Level’ Over Khashoggi

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Turkish officials believe Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi royal family, was killed inside the consulate, at the orders of Saudi Arabia’s leadership. The Times and the Washington Post both reported that private planes carrying Saudi Arabian agents arrived in Istanbul shortly before and after Khashoggi entered the consulate and left the same day.

Saudi officials have denied Khashoggi was killed within the consulate and say he left shortly after arriving to retrieve a document related to his upcoming wedding.

To contact the reporter on this story: Helene Fouquet in Paris at hfouquet1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alan Crawford at acrawford6@bloomberg.net, Tony Czuczka

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