“The issue of Jamal Khashoggi… really saddened us, all of us,” Ibrahim al-Assaf told AFP, a day after he was appointed foreign minister in a government reshuffle.

“But all in all, we are not going through a crisis, we are going through a transformation,” he added, referring to social and economic reforms spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The prince, heir to the Saudi throne, has faced intense international scrutiny over the October 2 murder of journalist Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate — which critics say has left the oil-rich Gulf nation diplomatically weakened.

Assaf, a former finance minister who was detained last year in what Riyadh said was an anti-corruption sweep, replaced Adel al-Jubeir as foreign minister in the sweeping government shake-up ordered by King Salman.

Jubeir, who sought to defend the tainted government internationally after Khashoggi’s murder, was appointed minister of state for foreign affairs, which was widely seen as a demotion.

“This is far from the truth,” Assaf said.

“Adel represented Saudi Arabia and will continue to represent Saudi Arabia… around the world. We complement each other.”