Turkey has accused the US of trying to turn a blind eye to the opposition journalist’s murder and has dismissed as “comic” President Trump’s pledge to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia, despite saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman may have been in the know about the plan to kill Khashoggi, Reuters reported.
Mentioning Prince Mohammad’s possible involvement in the murder, Donald Trump said: "Maybe he did, maybe he didn't." His comments clashed with the opinion of the CIA, which reportedly believes Khashoggi's death was ordered directly by the crown prince.
"Yesterday's statement [by Trump] is a comic statement,” Numan Kurtulmus, the deputy chairman of President Erdogan's AK Party, told state broadcaster TRT Haber.
"It is not possible for an intelligence agency such as the CIA, which even knows the colour of the fur on the cat walking around the Saudi consulate's garden… to not know who gave this order This is not credible either for US public opinion or world public opinion," he added.
Turkey insists that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the ‘highest levels’ of the Saudi government.
After meeting with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo in Washington, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was not entirely satisfied with the level of cooperation it is receiving from Saudi Arabia regarding the case and that Turkey may request a formal UN inquiry into the matter if its joint effort with Saudi Arabia comes to an impasse, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Jamal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to obtain papers he needed to get married. He never came out.
READ MORE: Turkish FM Says Ankara Could Seek UN Probe into Khashoggi Murder
On 15 November, the Saudi Prosecutor General's Office said that the journalist had been killed with a drug injection and his body had been dismembered and taken out of the consulate, adding that a total of 21 people had been detained in relation to the case.