Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy leader and spokesman Ömer Çelik
The world is wondering who “at the top” had ordered the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputy leader and spokesman Ömer Çelik on Wednesday.
“This could not have been done without an order from the top. The world wants to know: Who gave the order from the top?” Çelik said.
During a televised speech, Çelik said Turkey firmly condemns French FM Jean-Yves le Drian's remarks that were critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s handling of Jamal Khashoggi case.
Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate by a team sent from Riyadh. Saudi authorities have acknowledged that the killing was premeditated, but his body has not been found.
U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday the Senate could vote within weeks on legislation to punish Saudi Arabia over the war in Yemen and the death of a journalist at its consulate in Istanbul.Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the Senate could vote before the end of the year on a resolution seeking to cut off all assistance to Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen.He said it was also possible that measures to prevent arms sales to Riyadh would make it to the Senate floor."Senators are looking for some way to show Saudi Arabia the disdain they have for what has happened, with the journalist, but also concerns about the way Yemen has gone," Corker told Reuters as lawmakers returned to Washington for the first time since last week's congressional elections.The killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Turkey has heightened concerns in Congress about the Riyadh government, already raised by the war in Yemen, particularly over civilians killed in Saudi attacks."It would be very hard, if a weapons sale came up, to keep it from being undone, at least in the Senate," Corker said.Gulf Arab states have been battling since 2015 to restore a government driven out by the Houthis, Shi'ite Muslim fighters that Yemen's neighbors view as agents of Iran. The war has killed more than 10,000 people and created the world's most urgent humanitarian emergency.Corker said his staff had asked that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and CIA Director Gina Haspel come to the Capitol as soon as late November for a classified briefing to address concerns about Yemen and Khashoggi's death.Trump's Republicans kept control of the Senate in the Nov. 6 elections but lost their majority in the House of Representatives to Democrats.Republicans will remain in charge of the House until the new Congress is seated in January, however, and voted on Tuesday to stop legislation in committee that would have ended U.S. support for the war in Yemen.House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi signaled that things could change when Democrats take over, if not before."Real, immediate action must be taken by Congress to end this horrific humanitarian crisis," she said in a statement.
US lawmakers expect votes on steps to crack down on Saudi Arabia
Referring to a remark made by French President about the need for a European army, Çelik said the debate over the proposal clearly shows cracks in transatlantic alliance.
“Security of Balkans, Europe would not possible without Turkey, no matter with a NATO or a European army,” said Çelik.
Discussing the threat from cyber-hacking and outside meddling in the electoral process, Macron said Europe needed to protect itself against China, Russia "and even the United States".
Later in the interview he spoke about the need for a European army, saying:
"Faced by Russia, which is on our borders and which has shown that it can be threatening... we need to have a Europe that can better defend itself by itself, without depending solely on the United States."
Turkey can play a big role in the new global order, according to a Japanese political scientist.In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Yuichi Hosoya, a professor of international politics at Tokyo's Keio University, said that Turkey has the potential to act as a bridge between Western and non-Western countries, increasing its role in the new global order."I feel that both Japan and Turkey need to bridge the different worlds -- the Western world and non-Western world -- and also liberal democracies and authoritarian regimes," he said."By doing that we can create a much more inclusive and comprehensive international order," he added.Noting that previously international order was created by Western powers and liberal democracies such as the U.S. and Western Europe, Hosoya said: "The basic nature and the norms of the liberal international order has been based on Western norms.""But nowadays we are seeing the rise of non-Western states like India and China, and it is possible that we will see a clash between Western powers and non-Western powers, liberal democracies, and authoritarian regimes," he added.As Japan and Turkey are both located between the Western and non-Western worlds, both have Western elements in their society but at the same time they have differences with the Western powers, he said.Noting that both countries are allies of the U.S., Hosoya said that Japan and Turkey enjoy "very strong trade relations with the Western world," which is why Turkey could also play a bigger role.- Expanding cooperationThe Japanese scholar said Turkey also has the potential to expand its role in the region thanks to its strong relations with Islamic states."The center of economic growth is now moving from the Asia-Pacific region to the Indian Pacific Ocean, and if we look at the Indian Ocean, it is surrounded by Islamic countries and of course Turkey has a very important place in the Islamic community and Islamic states," Hosoya said."So it means that without cooperation with Turkey, Japan cannot fully understand the Muslim world surrounding the Indian Ocean," he added.
‘Turkey can play bigger role in new global order’