Trump statement on Khashoggi murder comic: Turkey

Turkey has described US President Donald Trump’s latest remarks on the killing of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi as “comic,” saying Washington is trying to turn a blind eye to the murder.

“Yesterday’s statement is a comic statement,” Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), told state broadcaster TRT Haber on Wednesday.

In a lengthy statement issued on Tuesday, Trump expressed his support for Saudi Arabia amid international condemnations of the murder, which Ankara says has been ordered by the highest ranks of authorities in the kingdom.

Trump claimed there was “nothing definitive” linking Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the murder despite an earlier CIA assessment, leaked by the Washington Post, stating that the heir to the Saudi throne had ordered the killing.

PressTV-Trump's 'Saudi Arabia First' policy draws rebuke

US President Donald Trump comes under bipartisan fire over refusing to blame Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.

“Maybe he (bin Salman) did, maybe he didn't,” said Trump, adding, US intelligence agencies are still assessing all the information surrounding the case.

Kurtulmus further said, “It is not possible for an intelligence agency such as the CIA, which even knows the color of the fur on the cat walking around the Saudi consulate's garden ... to not know who gave this order.”

“This is not credible either for US public opinion or the world public opinion,” he added.

Khashoggi, a one-time royal insider who had been critical of the crown prince recently, was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October.

Following weeks of denial of any involvement in Khashoggi’s disappearance, the Riyadh regime eventually acknowledged the “premeditated” murder, but has sought to distance bin Salman from the assassination.

Saudi Arabia’s deputy public prosecutor said last week that Khashoggi's body had been dismembered when “negotiations” to convince him to return to kingdom failed.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday that Ankara may opt for a formal United Nations investigation into the brutal murder, following a meeting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington.

Cavusoglu said his country was not satisfied with the level of the Saudi liaison with Turkey over Khashoggi’s murder, reiterating that the truth had to come out on who gave the orders to kill The Washington Post columnist.

“Until now, we have accepted Saudi Arabia’s offers for cooperation with us without hesitation. However, looking at the cooperation now, since we can’t find answers to the questions I just listed, this cooperation is not at the level we want,” he told reporters.

“If there is an impasse here and this investigation only goes so far or there isn’t full cooperation, then we can make the necessary applications for an international investigation,” he added, noting that he had raised the issue with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

PressTV-‘Khashoggi killing audio to turn Saudi palace upside down’

A Turkish daily says the audio recordings of Khashoggi's murder, which are expected to be released this week, will “shake the world” and “turn the Saudi palace upside down.”

Elsewhere in his comments, Cavusoglu said that both he and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had listened to the audio recording of Khashoggi’s death, and that it was up to the Turkish judiciary to decide whether to release the tape.

“It is very disgusting. If you listen to it you can understand that it is premeditated murder,” he pointed out.

The top Turkish diplomat further stressed that he “did not get an impression that US will not follow up” on the case.

He also said that Pompeo had expressed his intention to see the outcome of both Turkish and Saudi probes on the issue.

‘Case not closed’

Separately on Tuesday, Canada emphasized that it considered Khashoggi's murder to be an open case and would use the upcoming G20 summit to push for answers concerning the issue.

“Canada very much does not consider the Khashoggi affair to be closed,” Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said, adding that Ottawa would push for a transparent international investigation into the case.

“It is very clearly Canada's position that those responsible for this horrendous murder must face full responsibility for it,” she noted.

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