Pompeo meets Erdogan after talks with Saudis on missing journalist
US secretary of state says Riyadh promised full investigation
ANKARA (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Turkey’s president and foreign minister on Wednesday to discuss the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi as pressure mounted on Saudi Arabia to provide answers following Turkish allegations that he was killed.
US President Donald Trump gave the Gulf kingdom the benefit of the doubt on Tuesday even as US lawmakers pointed the finger at Saudi leadership. Pompeo, who was 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.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that Pompeo would provide information about the case after Khashoggi, a US resident, vanished on October 2 during a visit to the consulate to collect marriage documents.
But he provided no details following Pompeo’s two 40-minute meetings at the airport with Cavusoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan, describing the meetings only as “beneficial and fruitful.” 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 told Reuters that the 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 that he was killed in a botched interrogation. Trump has speculated, without providing evidence, that “rogue killers” could be responsible.
Turkish investigators searched the consulate for the first time on Monday night, gathering “strong” but inconclusive evidence that Khashoggi was killed there. Erdogan has indicated that parts of the consulate have been repainted. A search of the consul’s residence and vehicles was delayed after he returned to Riyadh on Tuesday.
“Yesterday [the Saudis] did not want the search to be done since the consul’s family was inside,” Cavusoglu said. “However, according to the information we received, we expect to get a permit today.”
How the crown prince emerges from the crisis will be a test of how the West will deal with Saudi Arabia in the future – specifically to what extent the West believes that responsibility for Khashoggi’s disappearance lies with the powerful young ruler.
Last week, a pro-government Turkish daily published preliminary evidence from investigators who 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.
One name matches a LinkedIn profile for a forensic expert who has worked at the interior ministry for 20 years. Another has been identified in a diplomatic directory from 2007 as a first secretary at the Saudi Embassy in London. Others resemble officers in the Saudi Army and Air Force.
After his meetings with the king and crown prince on Tuesday, Pompeo said Saudi Arabia has pledged to conduct a full investigation.
“They understood that [it is important to get it] done in a timely, rapid fashion so they could begin to answer important questions,” he told reporters traveling with him.
Asked if they had said whether Khashoggi was alive or dead, Pompeo said: “They didn’t talk about any of the facts.”
Earlier, Trump tweeted that Prince Mohammed had denied knowing what happened in the Saudi Consulate.
“I think we have to find out what happened first,” Trump told the Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday. “Here we go again with, you know, you’re guilty until proven innocent. I don’t like that.”
Prince Mohammed, who has enjoyed a close relationship with the Trump administration, has painted himself as the face of a new, vibrant Saudi Arabia, diversifying its economy away from reliance on oil and making some social changes.
But there has been mounting criticism of some of the prince’s moves, including Riyadh’s involvement in the Yemen war, the arrest of women activists and a diplomatic row with Canada.
Members of the US Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, are among the loudest voices in the US demanding answers and action on Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who moved to the capital last year fearing retribution for his critical views.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican close to Trump, has called the prince “a wrecking ball,” accusing him of ordering Khashoggi’s murder.