Saudi team in Turkey for Khashoggi probe
SAUDI TEAM IN TURKEY TO INVESTIGATE KHASHOGGI DISAPPEARANCE
A delegation from Saudi Arabia has arrived in Turkey as part of a joint investigation into the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Delegations of the two countries are expected to hold a meeting during the weekend, Turkish state-run Anadolu agency reported yesterday. Meanwhile, the kingdom’s ambassador to Britain expressed concern about Khashoggi’s fate. But Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf Al Saud told the BBC yesterday that he needed to wait for the results of the investigation before commenting further.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa said the international campaign ostensibly supporting missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was in fact politically targeting Saudi Arabia.
“The real objective is Saudi Arabia, and not looking for any truth,” he tweeted yesterday. “Drop your masks, we support Saudi Arabia with our lives.”
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, has not been seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Riyadh has insisted he left the mission a short time later.
In another tweet, Shaikh Khalid decried the stance of the Qatar-based pan-Arab television station. “The continuing hostility, abuses and lies by Al Jazeera Television towards Saudi Arabia reflect Qatar’s policy with which we cannot reconcile.”
Welcome move
Meanwhile, a Saudi delegation has arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara as part of the joint team with Turkey to investigate the disappearance of Khashoggi. The delegations of the two countries are expected to hold a meeting during the weekend, Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported yesterday.
A Saudi official yesterday welcomed the Turkish response to Saudi Arabia’s request to form a joint working team. The official praised the positive step, stressing full confidence in the ability of the joint working team
This came as Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Britain expressed concern yesterday about Khashoggi’s fate. But Prince Mohammad Bin Nawaf Al Saud told the BBC he needed to wait for the results of an investigation before commenting further about Khashoggi’s fate.
“We are concerned about our citizen Jamal,” he said. “There is an ongoing investigation and it would be premature for me to comment until we see the final results of the investigation.”
Asked when he would have an answer, the envoy replied: “Hopefully soon.”
TRT, Turkey’s national public broadcaster, reported yesterday afternoon that the meetings with the Saudi delegation will be held in Ankara and would include an agreement on a legal framework for the investigation, and that the team would move to Istanbul most probably tomorrow for the field investigation.
Several media have been devoting most of their news coverage, reports and analyses to Khashoggi’s case under a clear anti-Saudi editorial line.
On Thursday, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash pointed to the repercussions of politically targeting Saudi Arabia, saying they would be dire for all those who fuel it. “The vicious campaign against Riyadh and the coordination between those inciting it is expected. Since there is an urgent need to clarify the humanitarian aspect of the situation, the repercussions for politically targeting Saudi Arabia will be grave for those behind it,” Gargash posted to his 865,000 followers on Twitter.
Since there is an urgent need to clarify the humanitarian aspect of the situation, the repercussions for politically targeting Saudi Arabia will be grave for those behind it.”
Dr Anwar Gargash | UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
US steps in
US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert welcomed the joint team’s formation, saying the United States is “content with the TurkeySaudi agreement to form a joint working group to investigate the Khashoggi case.”
President Donald Trump said the US has investigators in Turkey trying to determine what happened to Khashoggi.