The senior Saudi prince returned to Riyadh after two-and-a-half months overseas, the source said.
The New York Times, Reuters and the Financial Times reported that the prince’s return had sparked speculation about his role in the kingdom’s crisis management efforts following the international outcry over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The source speaking to CNN didn’t clarify the reasons and significance of the prince’s return or if he had indeed sought assurances for his safety after spending time abroad.
Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi journalist and critic of the regime, was last seen entering the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
A source close to the Saudi Royal Palace told CNN last week that the location of Khashoggi’s body was not known to the Saudis. The source said the body was handed over to a local “collaborator” after the killing, adding that it is not at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
What’s behind prince’s return?
In September, suggestions of a royal family rift emerged after Prince Ahmed was caught on camera distancing himself from the royal family when talking to anti-Saudi protesters in London.
Responding to the heckling crowd who were reportedly angry over the kingdom’s involvement in the ongoing Yemen conflict, the Prince appeared to say the entire family of Al-Saud was not to blame for the violence in Yemen, just his brother and the nephew.
“This is true for the security and stability of the country and the people. Therefore, it is not possible to interpret what I said in any other way,” the statement continued.
Prince Ahmed’s return home comes as Saudi Arabia’s royal family faces increasing pressure to clarify the circumstances surrounding Khashoggi’s death.
While it does not appear that the prince’s homecoming will change the kingdom’s plans for succession, Gregory Gause, a Saudi expert at Texas A&M University, says it does suggest the Saudi royal family may be trying to internally restructure the dynasty.
“What’s going to happen when he goes back is opaque. … I don’t think that he has the kind of profile that would make him a serious challenger for the top spot but he is one of the most senior members of the family who has political experience,” Gause told CNN. “He was always a number two from almost all of his time in government.
“But he has standing in the family and if there is an effort going on within the family to try to come up with a formula, not so much to replace the crown prince but to restrain him by putting some more senior people from the family into important decision-making positions, the return of Prince Ahmed would be consistent with that kind of maneuver,” Gause said.
Gause added that the return indicates that the House of Al-Saud understands that Khashoggi’s killing “has changed the political climate to an extent that they have do to something if relationships are going to be sustained at their current level.”
He added: “We’re also seeing that with the US and UK coming out with a more high-level call for some kind of negotiations on Yemen.”
UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffith agreed Thursday that Khashoggi’s murder appears to have played a part in prompting the surprise American government call for a ceasefire.
There was already the beginning of a strong desire to move from war to peace, Griffith said in an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, but issues including Khashoggi’s murder “have catalyzed interests in these countries.”
CNN’s Sarah Sirgany and Mahatir Pasha contributed to this report.