Turkish government officials have said they need more time to release clear details about what happened to Saudi dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi, adding that their probe is being held up by bureaucratic hurdles.
"Everyone should wait for the result of the probe," Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told state news agency Anadolu on Wednesday. "It would be a waste of time to speak too much on this issue."
Khashoggi, a vocal critic of Saudi Arabia's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was last seen at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, where he had gone to pick up papers so he could marry his Turkish fiancee. Turkish officials have told the media that the dissident and Washington Post columnist was murdered inside the consulate. Saudi Arabia has denied the allegations.
Soylu said the government is carrying out a "transparent" investigation and that the results would be shared with the world, characterizing the probe as a "test" for the Turkish judiciary.
Soylu added that Ankara is still waiting for an agreement with the Saudi leadership to start a search of the residence of Saudi Arabia's Consul General Mohammad al-Otaibi in Istanbul.
"Unfortunately the search could not take place at the residence yesterday evening," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in Ankara following a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "The Saudis claimed [the consul's] family is there. We hope to enter today," he said, adding that the search will include the residence and some vehicles.
Talks with Pompeo were "beneficial and fruitful," Çavuşoğlu said.
Pompeo, who met with the Saudi leadership Tuesday in Riyadh to discuss Khashoggi's disappearance, was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday.
Turkish newspaper Yeni Şafak reported Wednesday that it had access to an alleged audio recording of Khashoggi's killing which provided evidence that the journalist was also tortured.
The newspaper reported that al-Otaibi, the Saudi consul general, is heard on the audio saying: "Do this outside. You are going to get me in trouble."
According to Yeni Şafak, the alleged torturers responded, "Shut up if you want to live when you return to Saudi Arabia." The report could not be independently verified.
In the wake of Khashoggi's disappearance, several high-profile US media companies have pulled their sponsorship from Saudi Arabia's Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh later this month. Leading US companies including Google and Ford as well as IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said they would not attend the Future Investment Initiative next week.
Saudi Arabia has said the forum will go ahead as scheduled despite the withdrawals.
