Turkey calls for UN inquiry into Khashoggi murder

Turkey is not entirely satisfied with the cooperation it is receiving from Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and may seek a United Nations inquiry if it comes to an impasse, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says.

کد خبر: ۸۵۳۵۸۸

تاریخ: ۳۰ آبان ۱۳۹۷ - ۰۸:۵۲

Speaking to reporters in Washington after meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Cavusoglu said Turkey has shared the latest information on the Khashoggi killing with the United States.

He repeated Ankara's stance that the truth had to come out on who gave the orders to kill the journalist.

"Until now, we have accepted Saudi Arabia's offers for cooperation with us without hesitation. However, looking at the cooperation now, since we can't find answers to the questions I just listed, this cooperation is not at the level we want," Cavusoglu said.

"If there is an impasse here and this investigation only goes so far or there isn't full cooperation, then we can make the necessary applications for an international investigation," he said, adding that he discussed the issue with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Khashoggi, a US-based Washington Post columnist who was a critic of the Saudi government run by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in October at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

After offering numerous contradictory explanations for Khashoggi's disappearance, Riyadh said last week that he had been killed and his body dismembered when "negotiations" to convince him to return to Saudi Arabia failed. The public prosecutor said it would seek the death penalty for five suspects in the case.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said the killing was ordered at the "highest levels" of the Saudi government, but has not directly accused Prince Mohammed. Saudi Arabia has denied that the prince ordered Khashoggi's killing.

Cavusoglu also said that both he and Erdogan had listened to the audio recording of Khashoggi's murder.

"It is very disgusting. If you listen to it you can understand that it is premeditated murder," he said, adding that it was up to the Turkish judiciary to decide whether to release the recording.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to remain a "steadfast partner" of Saudi Arabia, despite saying that the Saudi crown prince may have known about the plan to murder the dissident journalist last month.