‘We seek justice!’ Erdogan talks with Trump, says he'll reveal ‘naked truth’ about Khashoggi’s fate
In a phone call with President Donald Trump, Recep Tayyip Erdogan pushed for the need to disclose all circumstances of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Earlier, the Turkish leader promised to make an “important statement” soon.
“We seek justice and this will be revealed in all its naked truth, not through some ordinary steps but in all its naked truth. This is not an ordinary case. I will make statements on Tuesday at the AK Party parliamentary group meeting,” Erdogan said on Sunday afternoon, as cited by the Sabah newspaper.
“The incident will be revealed entirely,” he emphasized. In a phone call with Trump later in the day, he once again spoke about the need to uncover and disclose “all circumstances” of Khashoggi’s fate, according to Anadolu.
Riyadh has yet to properly explain the death of the Washington Post columnist, who was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2. Amid Turkish media reports detailing Khashoggi's abduction, torture and gruesome murder, the Gulf Kingdom initially denied having any involvement in his disappearance.
Yet, after facing massive worldwide pressure and condemnation, the Saudis finally admitted that the 60-year-old Saudi national was accidentally killed after he got into a “fight” inside the consulate. On Sunday, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Fox News that Riyadh still doesn't know how exactly Khashoggi was killed or where his body is.
Reigniting speculations that Turkish authorities might indeed have access to a mysterious audio recording that allegedly captured the moment the journalist was tortured, killed and dismembered by a death hit squad of 15 men, Erdogan promised to “go into detail” about what exactly Turkish investigators learned after searching the residence of the consul general as well as the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.
Saudis admit missing journalist #Khashoggi died in accidental ‘fistfight’ inside consulateREAD MORE: https://t.co/VtnIZlPx0Opic.twitter.com/aOP2YcMcgm
— RT (@RT_com) October 20, 2018
To emphasize its commitment to uncovering the truth, Riyadh fired five top intelligence officials and arrested 18 suspects linked to the case, and put crown prince in charge of the purge and reorganization of the country’s spy agency.
Praising such “progress” after weeks of denials, Donald Trump cautioned against rushing to conclusions and implementing any harsh measures. Trump also firmly insists that the US should avoid introducing any sanctions that could jeopardize multibillion trade deals with the Kingdom, which includes a record $110bn arms contract. Trump's opinion of the Saudi investigation, however, scaled back throughout Saturday evening. “Obviously there’s been deception and there’s been lies,” Trump told the Washington Post. Meanwhile, Britain, Germany, and France issued a statement on Sunday, urging the Saudis to produce concrete evidence on the case to clarify details of Khashoggi's fate.
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