Turkey may seek UN inquiry on Khashoggi in case of Saudi non-cooperation

Turkey is not entirely satisfied with the level of cooperation it is receiving from Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and may seek a formal United Nations inquiry over the issue if liaising with Riyadh comes to an impasse, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

The Turkish foreign minister and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met in Washington DC on Tuesday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, extradition of FETO members and journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

The meeting lasted about 45 minutes.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2.

After initially saying he left the consulate alive, Saudi Arabia admitted weeks later he was killed there.

He said that the Khashoggi murder case was not a political issue nor was it about bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia or trade, rather it was a humanitarian issue that Turkey wants to shed light on.

"Whoever gave the instruction should be held accountable... Whoever committed this crime should be brought to justice," Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

He added that Ankara's "aim" was to find out who was behind the murder.

Cavusoglu further said that cooperation with Saudi Arabia over Jamal Khashoggi's killing is not where Turkey would want it.

He added that Turkey might seek a UN investigation over the issue if Saudi Arabia did not satisfactorily cooperate over the case.

The Turkish foreign minister had also met with United Nations chief Antonio Guterres a day earlier, and the two had also discussed the possibility of an international probe into the Saudi journalist's murder.

The Turkish foreign minister also said that the US was presented with a list of 84 FETO members Ankara wants to extradite.

FETO is the group led by Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in self-imposed exile in the US since the late 1990s, and was behind the deadly July 15, 2016, coup attempt in Turkey that saw at least 250 people killed and more than 2,000 injured.