Turkey's Çavuşoğlu calls on UN to set commission on Khashoggi case

The UN should set up a commission or initiate investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was killed in Istanbul last fall, the foreign minister said Friday.

Speaking to reporters in the Mediterranean province of Antalya, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said: "We see it improbable, unfortunately, due to the attitude of some countries."

He urged UN chief Antonio Guterres and UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet to form a commission to clarify facts.

Speaking about the findings of UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard who recently visited Turkey with a team of experts for an international inquiry into Khashoggi's murder, Çavuşoğlu said: "The findings of the rapporteur in Turkey are matching our findings and this is important."

Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey shared with her evidence collected during investigation.

The UN rapporteur said Thursday in a statement that the killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was "planned and perpetrated by Saudi officials".

"The murder of Jamal Khashoggi and the sheer brutality of it has brought irreversible tragedy to his loved ones. It is also raising a number of international implications which demand the urgent attention of the international community including the United Nations," Callamard said.

The visit from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 was the Callamard's first official visit to Turkey.

Investigations by the UN are ongoing, and Callamard's final report will be presented to the Human Rights Council in June, the statement said.

Khashoggi, a contributor to The Washington Post, was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After producing various contradictory explanations, Riyadh acknowledged he was killed inside the consulate building, blaming the act on a botched rendition operation.

Turkey has sought the extradition of the Saudi citizens involved in the killing as well as a fuller accounting of the killing from Riyadh.