Saudi journalist, Jamal Khashoggi offers remarks during POMED’s “Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia: A Deeper Look”, By the POMED, via Wikipedia
On Sunday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he will announce the details of the killing of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi during a meeting of his party, the Justice and Development (AK), on Tuesday.
“On this issue [Khashoggi’s killing], I will make statements hopefully on Tuesday during the [AK party weekly] group meeting,” Erdogan said during an opening ceremony of the driverless metro line on the Asian side of Istanbul, according to the Turkish Anadolu Agency.
Erdogan added that he will reveal why the 15 Saudis, accused of killing Khashoggi, came to Istanbul and why 18 people were arrested by the Saudi authorities. The Turkish President stressed that this information has to be explained “in details.”
A day earlier, the Saudi Public Prosecution claimed that Khashoggi had died as a result of a “quarrel and a brawl” with personnel he had met inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and security forces had arrested 18 Saudi suspects. Several senior Saudi officials were also sacked by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Turkey has not announced its stand on the Saudi claims so far. However, a spokesman for the AK party, Omer Celik, promised that Turkey will reveal all the details of the murder Khashoggi once the investigation is completed.
Erdogan’s statement today and the information, which was leaked to Western press by Turkish officials, indicates that Ankara is planning to turn the crime into a bargaining chip with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. The preliminary results of this Turkish plan will likely be observed on Tuesday.
