Turkey and Saudi Arabia will conduct a joint search of the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Monday as part of a probe into the nearly two-week disappearance of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to a Turkish diplomatic source.
“It is expected that a search will take place towards the evening,” the source, who asked not to be identified, told Agence France-Presse.
Khashoggi, 59, a Washington Post columnist who was highly critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman and Riyadh’s policies, vanished Oct. 2 after entering his country’s diplomatic mission in Istanbul.
Turkey believes he was murdered by a 15-man team from Saudi Arabia and his body dismembered, while the kingdom has denied the allegations.
The development comes after a Saudi delegation arrived in Turkey while Saudi King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held their first phone conversation about the case late Sunday.
Last week, Saudi authorities agreed to let Turkish authorities search the consulate after Ankara sought permission to investigate the building on Saudi sovereign territory.
Ankara and Riyadh disagreed over the search after Saudi officials reportedly said they would only permit a superficial “visual” search.
However, Turkey rejected the offer and pro-government daily Sabah reported last week that officials wanted to search the building with luminol, a chemical that can detect traces of blood.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia vowed to retaliate against any threats from the US after President Trump said Riyadh would suffer “severe consequences” if it turns out they were behind the disappearance.
“The Kingdom affirms its total rejection of any threats and attempts to undermine it, whether by threatening to impose economic sanctions, using political pressures, or repeating false accusations,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.
The Arabic-language daily Okaz wrote an English headline Monday warning, “Don’t Test Our Patience” — along with the image of a clenched fist made of a crowd of people in the country’s green color.
The Saudi Gazette declared, “Enough Is Enough,” while the Arab News said: “Saudi Arabia ‘will not be bullied.’”
Already, international business leaders and media companies have been pulling out of the kingdom’s upcoming investment forum, a high-profile event known as “Davos in the Desert.”
They include the CEO of Uber, a company in which Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars; billionaire Richard Branson; JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon; and Ford Motor Co. executive chairman Bill Ford.
With Post wires