On Khashoggi .. Saudi intelligence chief arrives in Turkey and Salman calls Erdogan

The head of Saudi intelligence on Sunday arrived in Turkey to discuss the missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, while King Salman bin Abdul Aziz telephoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the same subject.

Private sources told Hazira that the head of Saudi intelligence arrived Sunday in Turkey and that he had already met with Turkish officials to discuss Khashoggi's disappearance.

Khashoggi entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain a document to complete his marriage to his fiancée, who was waiting outside the building.

Since then, no trace has been found of him. While media reports of Turkish officials have said he was killed and tortured inside the consulate by Saudi security officers, Riyadh dismisses these leaks as false accusations.

The Anatolia news agency reported that the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Sunday received several people, despite being an official holiday, amid the anticipation of the developments of the investigations.

In the context, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz on Sunday telephoned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where they discussed the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside his consulate in Istanbul.

King Salman thanked Erdogan for welcoming Saudi Arabia's proposal to set up a joint working group "to discuss the disappearance of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi," SPA said.

The agency said that King Salman "stressed the Kingdom's keenness on its relations with Turkey as much as the brotherly Republic of Turkey is keen on this and that no one will get the strength of this relationship."

She added that Erdogan stressed "his appreciation for the historic and distinguished brotherly relations between the two countries and brotherly peoples and his keenness to strengthen and develop."

Detection of circumstances
According to sources with the Turkish presidency, Erdogan discussed with King Salman the question of uncovering the circumstances of Khashoggi's disappearance.

King Salman's contact with Erdogan comes amid growing international pressure on Saudi Arabia, where important international powers are demanding that Khashoggi's fate be revealed quickly.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Saudi Arabia if it proved to be involved in the murder of journalist Khashoggi.

Britain, France and Germany called on Saudi and Turkish authorities on Sunday to conduct a "credible investigation" into Khashoggi's disappearance.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the three countries said "there is a need for a credible investigation to find out what happened and to identify those responsible for the disappearance of Khashoggi and ensure accountability."