ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday vowed to revealwithin days the “naked truth” over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,as Riyadh said it did not know the whereabouts of his body and that CrownPrince Mohammed bin Salman had been unaware of any operation to murder him.
The Turkish leader s statement came the day after Saudi authoritiesconceded Khashoggi had been killed inside their diplomatic compound inIstanbul.
“We are looking for justice here and this will be revealed in all its nakedtruth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth,” Erdogantold a rally in Istanbul.
In his strongest comments to date on the affair, President Donald Trumpaccused Saudi Arabia of lying about the killing of Khashoggi, a WashingtonPost columnist who fell out of favour with the ultraconservative kingdom,as pressure built on the US administration to strike a tougher line.
The Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, on Sunday described the killingas a “tremendous mistake” and said it had been a “rogue operation” byindividuals who “exceeded their responsibilities” and then “tried to coverup for it”.
Jubeir insisted in an interview with Fox News that the operation was notordered by the crown prince known by his initials MBS, also adding that “wedon t know where the body is”.
Erdogan, who has not yet directly blamed Saudi Arabia, held a telephonecall with Trump on Sunday where the two leaders agreed the Khashoggi caseneeded to be clarified “in all its aspects,” a Turkish presidential sourcesaid.
Erdogan is expected to make a full statement to his party s MPs inparliament at around 0800 GMT on Tuesday.
Turkish officials have said they believe that 15 Saudi men who arrived inIstanbul on two flights on October 2 were connected to Khashoggi s death.
Riyadh reacted by claiming one of the 15 had died in a car accident yearsago.
Saudi officials originally said Khashoggi, who stepped inside the doors ofthe diplomatic mission on October 2, had left unharmed, before announcinghe was killed inside the building in what they described as an altercation.
The kingdom has since admitted Khashoggi died in a “brawl” inside theconsulate and said it has fired five top officials and arrested 18 othersin an investigation into the killing.
Khashoggi, who would have been 60 this month, sought refuge in the UnitedStates after fleeing his native Saudi Arabia after the 2017 appointment ofstrongman Mohammed bin Salman as heir to the throne.
The journalist, who had espoused both Islamist and liberal views throughouthis decades-long career in the press, was engaged to a Turkish woman.
His killing has further soured relations between Saudi Arabia and Turkey,already at loggerheads over Qatar, with which Riyadh cut ties in 2017 andto which Ankara has deployed aid and troops.
Turkish officials now believe Riyadh carried out a state-sponsored killingand dismembered the body, with pro-government media in Turkey reporting theexistence of video and audio evidence to back those claims.
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As the Turkish leader is expected to reveal all details into thejournalist s killing, Trump has stepped back from his stance that SaudiArabia s latest explanation over the death was credible amid mountingpressure at home.
“Obviously there s been deception and there s been lies,” he said of theshifting accounts of Khashoggi s death offered by Riyadh.
“Their stories are all over the place.”
Several senior members of Trump s Republican Party said they believedPrince Mohammed, the kingdom s de facto ruler, was linked to the killing,and one called for a “collective” Western response if a link is proved.
Trump has stopped far short of calling for the prince to be replaced,emphasising as he has before how important the US-Saudi relationship is toWashington s regional strategic goals.
He described the 33-year-old prince as a “strong person; he has very goodcontrol.”
“He s seen as a person who can keep things under check,” added Trump. “Imean that in a positive way.”
The controversy has put the kingdom — for decades a key ally in Westernefforts to contain Iran — under unprecedented pressure.
It has also blown up into a major crisis for Prince Mohammed whose image asa modernising Arab reformer has been gravely undermined.
Britain, France and Germany have shown a united front, demanding SaudiArabia clarify how the journalist died inside its Istanbul consulate backedby “credible” facts.
Australia, Canada, the UN and the EU have also demanded greater clarityaround Khashoggi s death.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel added that Berlin would not export arms toSaudi Arabia “in the current situation”.
Germany last month approved 416 million euros ($480 million) worth of armsexports to Saudi Arabia for 2018. In the past, military exports by Berlinto Saudi have mostly consisted of patrol boats. – APP/AFP
