ANSD : Trump, Erdogan talk Khashoggi and Saudi crown prince meets British special envoy

SAT 20 - 4 - 2024

Date: Nov 12, 2018
Source: The Daily Star

Trump, Erdogan talk Khashoggi and Saudi crown prince meets British special envoy

PARIS/ANKARA: U.S. President Donald Trump and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed how to respond to the killing last month of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, a White House official said Sunday. The conversation took place during a Saturday dinner with heads of state gathered in Paris to mark the World War I Armistice centenary.

On Nov. 7, Trump said he expected to form a “much stronger opinion” by the following week on Khashoggi’s killing and Washington’s response, adding that he was working with Congress, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to establish who bore responsibility.

Erdogan revealed Saturday that audio recordings of the killing had been given to the U.S., French, German and British governments, adding that the operation had been ordered at the “highest levels” of the Saudi government.

Erdogan also told reporters Saudi Arabia had to “act fairly” and disclose those responsible for the Oct. 2 killing of the Washington Post journalist to rid itself of “suspicion.”

“We gave them the tapes. We gave them to Saudi Arabia, to America, to the Germans, the French, to the British, to all of them,” Erdogan said.

“They [Saudi officials] also listened to the conversations and they know. There is no need to distort this. They know for certain who among the 15 is the killer or are the killers,” he said.

He was referring to an alleged 15-member assassination squad that Turkey believes was sent to kill Khashoggi at the consulate where he had arrived to obtain papers to marry his Turkish fiancee.

Saudi Arabia had insisted for weeks after Khashoggi disappeared that he had walked out of the consulate, before changing its account to say he died in a brawl.

Last month, Saudi Arabia acknowledged that Turkish evidence indicates that Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, shifting its explanation in an apparent effort to ease international outrage over the death.

CIA Director Gina Haspel, who visited Turkey last month for information on the probe, is reported to have heard the recordings of the killing. The existence of the recordings was leaked to the media but never openly confirmed until now.

Turkey says Khashoggi was strangled and dismembered at the consulate as part of a premeditated killing. Media reports have suggested that his body could have been chemically dissolved.

Turkey is seeking the extradition of 18 suspects who have been detained in Saudi Arabia, so they can be put on trial in Turkey.

They include the 15 members of the alleged assassination squad.

Saudi officials characterize the killing as a rogue operation carried out by Saudi agents who exceeded their authority. Yet some of those implicated in the killing are close to the crown prince, including a member of the prince’s entourage on foreign trips who was seen at the consulate before Khashoggi’s slaying.

The Turkish president accused Saudi Arabia’s chief prosecutor, who was sent to Istanbul last month as part of a joint probe, of employing “delaying tactics.”

“Saudi Arabia needs to accept that [the killer] is among the 18 and needs to get rid of the suspicion by responding to Turkey’s good will and acting fairly,” Erdogan said.

Saudi crown prince meets British special envoy

_Reuters
DUBAI/LONDON: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has discussed bilateral relations with British Prime Minister Theresa May's special envoy, Simon McDonald, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Monday.

McDonald's talks in Riyadh comes as British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt said he will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Monday to press for an end to the war in Yemen and to urge Saudi leaders to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Hunt's visit comes at a time when Riyadh, already under scrutiny for civilian deaths in Yemen air strikes, is facing global criticism and potential sanctions over the murder of Khashoggi at its Istanbul consulate on Oct. 2.

Britain has called for a "credible" investigation into Khashoggi and has pushed for new action at the United Nations Security Council to try to end hostilities in Yemen and find a political solution to the war there.

"The human cost of war in Yemen is incalculable: with millions displaced, famine and disease rife and years of bloodshed, the only solution is now a political decision to set aside arms and pursue peace," Hunt said in a statement.

"So today I am travelling to the Gulf to demand that all sides commit to this process."

The foreign ministry said Hunt would meet Saudi Arabia's King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen and Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani.

Hunt, the first British minister to visit Saudi Arabia since the murder of Khashoggi a month ago, will also call on the Saudi authorities to do more to deliver justice and accountability for his family.

"The international community remain united in horror and outrage at the brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi one month ago. It is clearly unacceptable that the full circumstances behind his murder still remain unclear," he said.

"We encourage the Saudi authorities to cooperate fully with the Turkish investigation into his death, so that we deliver justice for his family and the watching world."

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