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Erdogan: I know who killed Khashoggi
"The person behind the Khashoggi murder is known to me, but you [Saudi Arabia] must declare it," Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul on Friday.
Erdogan said that audio recordings in his government's possession clearly demonstrate that individuals very close to MbS were involved in the gruesome assassination.
"We followed what happened yesterday in the US Senate but the issue will not stop there....it will continue because we have shared with the Americans and their intelligence service all the information we have and we are willing to share it with any side that requests it to fulfill justice," he added, saying that Turkey was the main country seeking justice for Khashoggi.
"Unfortunately, many in the Islamic world did not seek truth and justice because they are victims of the dollar and the riyal," he added, in reference to alleged Saudi incentives in return for silence on the murder.
The murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul on 2 October caused international outrage against Saudi Arabia, including among many US lawmakers who have strongly criticised Riyadh over the affair. |
The murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul on 2 October caused international outrage against Saudi Arabia, including among many US lawmakers who have strongly criticised Riyadh over the affair.
The Saudi government, who initially claimed no knowledge of Khashoggi's fate, eventually conceded that the journalist was killed at the embassy in what it has described as a "rogue operation".
US and Turkish intelligence officials have concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman must have at least known of the plot, but President Donald Trump has been reluctant to pin the blame due to his close relationship with the Saudi royal.
Erdogan also criticised the Saudi prosecutor general for not giving any valuable information to his Turkish counterpart on the Saudi Khashoggi investigation during his visit to Turkey last month.
"He just left with five bags of sweets and nuts...the things that concern him are not the same things that concern us," the Turkish president said.With input from agencies