Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman talked about the importance of working together during a phone call about the investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consulate in Turkey, according to reports.
During the call, their second on the topic, both leaders discussed information they’d obtained over the course of each’s own investigation, sources told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Erdogan told Turkish reporters before the call that the Khashoggi case cannot be left behind and that he would explain to the Saudi king how careless the Saudi consul general had been to let this unfold. The Kkng reportedly agreed that the consul general had been careless.
Turkish prosecutors, police and intelligence agencies are compiling Ankara’s report on the matter.
It’s not clear what happened to Khashoggi, but most speculate that he is dead. It is also not clear whether a search and rescue operation is underway.
Instead, it appears as though the investigations being conducted are probing for a homicide. Unverified reports earlier this month claim 15 Saudi operatives flew into Istanbul, went to the consulate, and tortured Khashoggi before killing and dismembering him. US President Donald Trump, for his part, said after a call with King Salman earlier this week that “rogue killers” may have been culpable for Khashoggi’s yet-unknown fate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the investigations needed to be completed before spoiling relations with Saudi Arabia.
“As far as I know, the missing journalist lived in the United States. He didn’t live in Russia, but in the US. In this sense, of course, the US bears some responsibility for what happened to him,” Putin said.
“We have to wait for the results of the probe. How can we, Russia, First of all, we have to wait for the results of the probe. How can we, Russia, start souring relations with Saudi Arabia without knowing what really happened there? We dont’t know what really happened there. So why do we need to take some steps towards the deterioration of our relations if we don’t understand what is happening? But if someone understands and someone believes that a murder occurred, then I hope that some evidence will be provided. Based on this, we will make appropriate decisions,” the Russian president said.
