Turkey reaches an agreement with Saudis to search consulate where Khashoggi went missing
President Trump said Monday he was sending U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo to meet with Saudi
King Salman to discuss the fate of a Saudi dissident journalist who disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in
Istanbul.
Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter Monday that he had spoken to King Salman, who he said denied “any knowledge” of what happened to
Jamal Khashoggi. Turkish authorities have said Mr. Khasshogi was killed by Saudi agents after he entered the consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 to handle a paperwork matter.
Saudi Arabia has denied the accusation and said he left the consulate alive, soon after arriving and collecting papers.
“Just spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia who denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened ‘to our Saudi Arabian citizen,’” Mr. Trump wrote. “He said that they are working closely with Turkey to find answer. I am immediately sending our Secretary of State to meet with King!”
The disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi has frayed relations between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia and has tested the Trump administration’s efforts to make the kingdom the linchpin of its Middle East policy.
Turkish authorities said Monday they had reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to search the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul for the missing journalist, a sign that the regional powers are seeking to avoid direct confrontation over an incident that has drawn widespread international concern.
A Turkish official said the search is expected to take place later Monday.
Saudi officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the consulate inspection.
Turkish officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, have said police had garnered evidence that Mr. Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered by a team of 15 operatives dispatched from Riyadh. But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stopped short of accusing the kingdom of his murder.
Saudi Arabia first pledged it would open the consulate doors to Turkish police several days after Mr. Khashoggi vanished. Since then, however, Saudi and Turkish officials argued over how thoroughly Turkish investigators would be allowed to inspect the diplomatic compound.
“We wanted to come in with all the chemicals and equipment investigators use to inspect crime scenes,” the official said. “The Saudis said we could only get a brief tour.”
The official said he expected Monday’s search would be conducted on Turkey’s terms and amount to a full inspection.
It comes a day after Mr. Erdogan spoke about Mr. Khashoggi’s disappearance with King Salman. The phone call, during which King Salman thanked the Turkish president for agreeing to set up a joint Saudi-Turkish team to investigate what happened to Mr. Khashoggi, was the first direct contact between the two leaders since the journalist went missing.