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LONDON – The Turkish Foreign Minister on Wednesday called for the opening of an international investigation into the assassination of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, reminding Saudi Arabia of the determination of Saudi Arabia to take action. Ankara to continue to call attention to the case. Saudi Arabia should close its own investigation this week.
"An international investigation is absolutely essential," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the parliament in remarks reported by the unofficial news agency Anadolu. "We will do everything in our power to shed light on this murder."
On Wednesday, other Turkish officials said separately that the government was reviewing the investigative requests of the Human Rights Commission of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as the government. an independent investigation led by the UN Secretary-General.
Mr. Khashoggi, a Virginia resident who wrote articles for the Washington Post, was killed on October 2 by a team of Saudi agents in the Istanbul consulate.
Many Western and current government officials said they were convinced that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto 33-year-old ruler, had authorized the assassination of Mr. Khashoggi. Saudi officials said the crown prince had no involvement or knowledge of the operation.
The Trump administration has focused its plans for the Middle East on a close partnership with Prince Mohammed. President Trump announced that he was awaiting the results of Saudi Arabia's internal investigation before reaching a conclusion. Mr. Trump has so far decided to stay with Prince Mohammed despite the scandal, said people familiar with the White House's strategy.
But Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prince Mohammed's rival for his influence in the region and a friend of Mr. Khashoggi, has embarked on a campaign to amplify outrage, abandoning earlier efforts to maintain cordial relations with the young Saudi leader. Erdogan has already said vaguely that he would support an international investigation into Khashoggi's murder.
While the Saudi prosecutor is expected to announce this week's results in the hope that the kingdom's leaders will close the case, the Turkish Foreign Minister's remarks on Wednesday appeared in order to remind the Saudis that Ankara will continue to push for the issue of accountability.
Saudi Arabia has reportedly arrested 18 men linked to the killing, but the kingdom has yet to reveal where Mr. Khashoggi's body was or who ordered the operation.
The effectiveness of any international investigation remains an open question. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, based in Jeddah, is one of the organizations to which the Turks thought they could appeal.
A Turkish official said on Wednesday that his government is considering a UN investigation inspired by the independent investigation into the assassination of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007. This investigation strongly criticized the Pakistani authorities for failing to to protect and not to examine any evidence relating to his murder.
Any international investigation would complicate the efforts of Saudi Arabia and its allies to overcome this episode.
