Saudi Arabia ‘certainly knows’ and should reveal who in the 15-member team killed Khashoggi in the Istanbul consulate, says Turkish president
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday that Turkey gave recordings on the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Saudi Arabia, the U.S., Germany, France and Britain.
"We gave the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to the United States, Germans, French and British, all of them. They have listened to all the conversations in them. They know," Erdoğan said.
Turkish sources have said previously that authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the murder.
Speaking ahead of his departure for France to attend commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One, Erdoğan said Saudi Arabia knows the killer of Jamal Khashoggi is among a group of 15 people who arrived in Turkey one day ahead of the Oct. 2 killing.
"There's no need to distort this issue, they know for certain that the killer, or the killers, is among these 15 people. Saudi Arabia's government can disclose this by making these 15 people talk," Erdoğan said.
Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for The Washington Post, was killed Oct. 2 inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of a plot to murder him.
The kingdom's public prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, has since said he was killed in a premeditated attack.
Erdoğan also accused Mojeb -- who visited Istanbul to discuss the investigation with his Turkish counterpart and make inspections in the Istanbul consulate-- of refusing to cooperate, in turn delaying the inquiry.
So far, 18 people, including security officers, have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.
Last week, Turkish prosecutors announced preliminary findings that said Khashoggi was strangled to death in a premeditated killing soon after he entered the consulate.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said Khashoggi's body was disposed of after being dismembered.
Saudi authorities have so far claimed no knowledge of the whereabouts of his remains.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said that he might meet U.S. President Donald Trump if they have opportunity in Paris during the commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One.
Erdoğan will pay an official visit to France on Nov. 10-11, the presidential press office said on Friday. His visit comes at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, said the statement.
During his visit, Erdoğan will attend Armistice Day commemorations. The ceremonies -- to be hosted by Macron in Paris -- will also see the attendance of nearly 100 world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Nov. 11 Armistice Day marks the 1918 end of World War between the Allies and their opponent, Germany, on land, sea, and air.
