International
Khashoggi killing: Erdogan to reveal more info ‘when time is right’, Saudi Arabia lifts travel ban on Khashoggi’s son
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara has more documents and information, which it will reveal “when the time is right”, in reference to Saudi critic, Jamal Khashoggi‘s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey which Saudi admitted to recently.
Khashoggi entered the building on October 2 to obtain documentation certifying he had divorced his ex-wife. He was not seen since.
Saudi Arabia has said the Saudi critic died in a fight inside its Istanbul consulate – after two weeks of consistent denials that it had anything to do with his disappearance.
Turkish media have reported Khashoggi was killed and dismembered based on recordings from the consulate. They say he died at the hands of a 15-member assassination squad from Saudi Arabia.
During a speech to provincial members of his AK Party in the Turkish capital, Erdogan urged Saudi Arabia to reveal who gave the order for the journalist to be killed.
He also announced that the chief Saudi prosecutor will be arriving in Istanbul on Sunday to meet with his Turkish counterpart as part of the investigation into Khashoggi’s killing
Erdogan added that Khashoggi’s killer is likely to be among the 18 men arrested by Riyadh.
“There is no other explanation, the perpetrator is among these 18 people and if it isn’t then you have to explain who is the local collaborator,” he said.
Meanwhile, Khashoggi’s son, Salah was allowed to travel after Saudi Arabia lifted a ban. He arrived in the United States.
A State Department spokesman said the US welcomed the decision by Riyadh to allow the dual Saudi-American citizen to go.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed Salah’s status during his recent visit to the kingdom, spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.
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Palladino said Pompeo “made it clear to Saudi leaders that he wanted Salah Khashoggi to return to the United States, and we are pleased that he is now able to do so”.
The destination of Salah and his family was not known, but his late father lived in the Washington area.
Moreover, Germany’s Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has welcomed Austria’s proposal for a joint European position on arm exports to Saudi Arabia, he told German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk (DLF) on Friday.
The German government has agreed not to deliver weapons to the kingdom at the moment, he said in an interview during a visit to Turkey, adding that the effect of that decision would be stronger if European countries adopted a common position.
