ZCZC
BFF-55
TURKEY-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY
Turkey in talks over possible UN probe into Khashoggi murder
ANKARA, Dec 11, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey is in talks over a possible United
Nations investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,
the Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday.
“We have discussed with the UN secretary general and our counterparts, and
will continue to discuss” a possible probe, Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a press
conference in Ankara.
The minister said there had been requests from inside the international
body for an investigation while his counterparts during the recent G20 summit
in Argentina expressed “the will to make a joint application” to the UN.
But Cavusoglu added that there has to be a formal request which then has
to be approved by the UN Security Council before any UN investigation could
begin.
Khashoggi, a contributor to the Washington Post residing in the United
States, was murdered after a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on
October 2 to obtain paperwork ahead of his wedding to his Turkish fiancee.
The 59-year-old former Saudi insider was strangled before he was cut up
into pieces by a team of 15 Saudis sent to Istanbul for the killing,
according to Turkish officials.
There has been speculation that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
ordered the hit but Riyadh has absolved the de facto leader of any blame.
Khashoggi’s remains have still not been found despite searches of the
consulate, the Saudi consul-general’s residence in Istanbul and two villas in
northwestern Turkey.
A Turkish court last week issued arrest warrants for two Saudi men close
to Prince Mohammed but Riyadh rejected demands to extradite the suspects.
Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani were described in Turkish court
documents as being “among the planners” of the murder.
“Why don’t you want these people to be tried in Turkey? I wonder, are you
scared that it would be revealed who gave the order for the murder?”, the
Turkish minister said.
Cavusoglu also repeated his criticism of the “lack of cooperation” by
Saudi officials during the Istanbul public prosecutor’s official
investigation.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the grisly killing
was ordered at the highest levels of the Saudi government but insisted it was
not by King Salman.
BSS/AFP/FI/1828 hrs