Pompeo holds talks in Turkey over Khashoggi
US SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo met Turkey’s president and foreign minister yesterday to discuss the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as pressure mounted on the kingdom to provide answers following Turkish allegations he was killed.
US President Donald Trump gave Saudi Arabia the benefit of the doubt on Tuesday even as US politicians pointed a finger at the Saudi leadership, and Pompeo, sent by Trump to address the crisis, discussed the affair with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a visit to Riyadh.
Khashoggi, a US resident, vanished during a visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to collect marriage documents.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu provided no details on the case following Pompeo’s two 40-minute meetings at Ankara Airport with Cavusoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan, describing them only as “beneficial and fruitful”.
Cavusolgu did say that Turkey hoped to enter the Saudi consul’s | Reuters residence yesterday to investigate Khashoggi’s disappearance. Pompeo did not address reporters. Turkish officials have said they believe Khashoggi – a prominent critic of the crown prince – was murdered and his body removed. Turkish sources have said authorities have an audio recording indicating Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate.
The Saudis have strongly denied those allegations, but US media outlets have reported they will acknowledge he was killed in a botched interrogation. Trump has speculated, without providing evidence, that “rogue killers” could be responsible.
Turkish police had been expected to search the Saudi consul’s Istanbul residence on Tuesday. They did not do so, officers at the scene said late on Tuesday, because Saudi officials were not able to join them. Hours earlier, the consul left Turkey for Riyadh.
How the crown prince emerges from the crisis is a test of how the West will deal with Saudi Arabia in the future. At issue will be to what extent the West believes responsibility for Khashoggi lies with the powerful young ruler.
A pro-government Turkish daily published preliminary evidence last week from investigators who it said had identified a 15-member Saudi intelligence team that arrived in Istanbul on diplomatic passports hours before Khashoggi disappeared.
A New York Times report, citing witnesses and other records, linked four suspects to Prince Mohammed’s security detail.