Jamal Khashoggi
The U.S. on Wednesday reiterated willingness to assist Turkey in its investigation of the missing Saudi journalist.
The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed "a range of issues of bilateral importance" during meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
Syria, Iran, and counterterrorism were among the issues addressed.
"The Secretary welcomed the decision to return Pastor Andrew Brunson and reiterated the United States’ willingness to assist Turkey in its investigation of the Jamal Khashoggi case," the statement said.
Prior to his visit to Ankara, Pompeo went to Saudi Arabia, where he held talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the disappearance of Khashoggi.
Yeni Şafak daily has obtained information indicating that there are numerous voice recordings from inside the Saudi consulate located in Turkey’s Istanbul where missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered on Oct. 2 and never reemerged.In one of the recordings, Saudi Arabia's Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi, who left Turkey for Riyadh on Tuesday, can be heard saying: “If you want to live, be quiet!”First torture, then executionSources indicate that Khashoggi was tortured before he was killed. His fingers were allegedly cut off during the interrogation process before he was decapitated.The consul general can be heard saying: “Do this outside. You’re going to get me in trouble.”US Secretary of State Pompeo lands in AnkaraKhashoggi has long been feared killed after he entered the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.He moved to Washington last year fearing retribution for his criticism of Prince Mohammed, who has cracked down on dissent with arrests.On same day Khashoggi went missing, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals, including a forensic expert, have since left Turkey.Europe may need to change Saudi policies over Khashoggi case: Merkel allyKhashoggi killing took seven minutes“It took seven minutes for Jamal Khashoggi to die, a Turkish source who has listened in full to an audio recording of the Saudi journalist's last moments,” told the Middle East Eye.The source said Khashoggi was “dragged from the Consul General’s office at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and onto the table of his study next door. The screaming stopped when Khashoggi was injected with an as yet unknown substance. Head of forensic evidence in the Saudi general security department Salah Muhammad al-Tubaigy began to cut Khashoggi’s body up on a table in the study while he was still alive. As he started to dismember the body, Tubaigy put on earphones and listened to music. He advised other members of the squad to do the same.”'Turkey to solve Saudi journalist case'Khashoggi disappearance tops global agendaSince Khashoggi’s disappearance, many global media outlets have claimed that recordings of his death inside the consulate exist.Turkish officials have told Reuters that authorities have an audio recording indicating that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, and have shared evidence with countries including Saudi Arabia and the United States. Saudi Arabia has denied any role in Khashoggi's disappearance.Police found “certain evidence” of Khashoggi’s slaying at the consulate, a high-level Turkish official told the Associated Press on Tuesday.Saudi owes Khashoggi family apology: US newspaper CEOTrump says Saudi prince denies knowledge of Khashoggi case
Recordings reveal Khashoggi tortured then dismembered while still alive
Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post newspaper, has long been feared killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul after he entered on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.
On Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials searched the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe into the missing journalist.
Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.
Whitewashing the disappearance and possible killing of a Saudi journalist “won’t be easy,” even for the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, wrote a Washington Post columnist Wednesday.“Putting a lid on a murder investigation won’t be easy, even for the brashly confident crown prince,” wrote Post columnist David Ignatius in "MBS’s rampaging anger will not silence questions about Jamal Khashoggi," a piece harshly critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, called MBS in the piece.Khashoggi, also a columnist for the Washington Post, is feared killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after he entered on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.Chinese daily slams approach of US over Khashoggi caseAs the “brave journalist” Khashoggi entered the consulate, he also started a “catastrophic process” which put Salman’s “own future in question,” wrote Ignatius.“Surrounded by yes-men who saw suppressing dissent as part of a media war, and rattled by the reversal of his dreams for economic reform, MBS moved toward the fateful moment when Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul,” he wrote.“The darkening mood inside MBS’s palace in recent months shows a crown prince facing economic pressure and tightening his circle of advisers,” Ignatius added.Turkey hopes to enter Saudi consul’s residence on Wednesday: FMSaud al-Qahtani, Salman’s media advisor, is also increasingly his “consigliere in the kingdom’s battles with foreign adversaries such as Qatar and Iran as well as domestic critics.”“U.S. officials believe that, in addition to seeking dominance in social media, Qahtani and other advisers have helped MBS use the latest and most aggressive hacking techniques against adversaries,” he said, adding that Qahtani urged Saudi to report “enemies of the kingdom” on his Twitter account, which has 1.3 million followers.“MBS’s tight inner circle has helped him push modernization efforts, such as reducing the power of the religious police, allowing women to drive and opening movie theaters and other public entertainment. But his team of palace advisers has often amplified, rather than challenged, the crown prince’s worst impulses,” he said.US senator blasts Trump over Khashoggi caseThe crown prince “went into a funk for several days after learning of Khashoggi’s death before re-emerging on a rampage of anger around what happened and trying to figure out a response," Ignatius said, citing an anonymous “knowledgeable source.”On Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials searched the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe into the disappearance.Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.Israel using Saudi statements on Khashoggi: OfficialFive Khashoggi suspects linked to crown prince: NY TimesRecordings reveal Khashoggi tortured then dismembered while still alive
Prince Salman can't quash murder probe: Wasington Post column
Pompeo and Cavusoglu also addressed the detention of Dr. Serkan Golge and other U.S. citizens as well as locally employed staff of the U.S. mission in Turkey.