Jamal Khashoggi: Pompeo meets the Saudi king, crown prince, following the disappearance of a journalist

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday urged Saudi leaders to quickly conduct a "transparent" investigation into the disappearance of journalist Kamal Khashoggi, as Turkish officials sifted through possible evidence at the last place where he had been seen alive.

Turkish officials claimed to believe that a Saudi strike team had killed Khashoggi earlier this month after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where forensic experts had their first chance on Monday to rake the site.

Saudi Arabia repeatedly denied that it had any influence on the fate of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who had criticized Saudi leaders. But international pressure – led by Turkish polls – has increased on the Saudi ruling family in the midst of conflicting accounts.

The clash seemed to intensify. The Associated Press, quoting Turkish police sources, said the evidence indicated that Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate, where he had surrendered on October 2 to obtain a necessary document so that he could get married.

The AP report could not be imprecisely confirmed and it did not provide specific details on the evidence collected.

[Turkish investigators search Saudi Consulate where journalist was last seen]

But this reflected Turkey's efforts to plead its case against Saudi Arabia and possibly influence the decisions of other nations as they question whether to re-evaluate trade and political ties with the kingdom.

In the midst of the fallout, Turkish officials also told the BBC that the Saudi consul general in Istanbul had returned to Riyadh as the last Saudi diplomat to leave office and return for consultations.

At the same time, Pompeo was sent by President Trump to the Saudi capital for talks with Saudi King Salman, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and the de facto head of the kingdom, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"Secretary Pompeo emphasized the importance of a thorough, transparent and timely investigation," said Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the state department.

Nauert said Pompeo had called Trump and National Security Advisor John Bolton to brief them on the meetings.

"The United States has a number of regional and bilateral issues to discuss with Saudi leaders, but learning what happened to Jamal Khashoggi is the main purpose of this trip and is of great interest to the President," said Nauert. "The secretary has clearly stated at each of his meetings today."

[Saudi Arabia forcefully rejects ‘threats’ over Khashoggi disappearance]

In public, however, Pompeo never uttered the name of Khashoggi, an American resident.

He smiled as he crossed a vast Persian rug, his hand outstretched when he approached the crown prince.

"We are powerful and ancient allies," the Crown Prince told Pompeo before the journalists were unveiled. "We take up our challenges together: the past, the day of tomorrow."

Pompeo responded enthusiastically: "Absolutely."

Throughout the day, his aides did not respond to media reports, the Saudis could be ready to change their story and recognize that Khashogg is dead. Until now, they insisted that he leave the consulate with the document he was looking for, and they have no idea what has happened to him.

In Istanbul, it was not known what clues could be found by the Turkish Forensic Science Team.

A few hours before their arrival, the journalists photographed a cleaning team entering the consulate with buckets, mops and what appeared to be a cleaning solution. When the investigators entered the consulate, they "felt that chemicals had been used," according to two officials in contact with the investigators.

US officials have, however, begun to predict this weekend that the Saudis would inevitably admit complicity in Khashoggi's death and claim a "botched operation," one familiar with the talks said.

In recent days, Saudi officials have discussed the publication of a statement mentioning in particular a botched operation and calling for the punishment of responsible officials, according to another person familiar with the discussions. The statement will only be issued after Saudi Arabia has reached an agreement with Turkey on how to proceed with the investigation, the official said.

An agreement authorizing the consulate's inspection came after Salman on Sunday called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Salman thanked him for welcoming the kingdom's proposal to establish a "joint working group" to investigate Khashoggi's disappearance, a Saudi statement said.

[Finance CEOs pull out of Saudi ‘Davos in the Desert’ over Khashoggi case]

Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said on Monday that he had been talking with the king for about 20 minutes and that Salman had firmly denied the kingdom's involvement in Khashoggi's disappearance.

"I do not want to get into his thoughts, but it seems to me that these killers could be thugs," Trump added. "Who knows? We'll try to get to the bottom of things very soon, but his was a flat denial."

It was unclear whether Trump's mention of "dishonest killers" was his own speculation, a theory he had heard from the king or a desired confirmation that Khashoggi had been killed at the consulate.

Turkish officials have published detailed information about their investigation, including a video suggesting that a team of Saudi agents would have been sent to Istanbul to capture Khashoggi or kill him.

The Turkish government also told the Trump administration that it had audio and video recordings of what had happened inside the consulate that day. US officials said the documents corroborated the finding that Khashoggi was interrogated, tortured and then killed.

Cunningham reported from Istanbul. Kareem Fahim and Souad Mekhennet in Istanbul and John Wagner in Washington contributed to this report.

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