UK urges Saudi Arabia ‘to cooperate with’ Turkey’s investigation into Khashoggi case

LONDON

The United Kingdom supports Turkey’s investigation into Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Oct. 15.

“We have been urging Saudi Arabia to cooperate fully with the investigation. There remain questions about the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi that only Saudi Arabia can answer,” he said after meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in London.

“The U.K. fully supports the Turkish investigation into the incident as I reiterated in person to Mr. Çavuşoğlu today,” he added.

Hunt said the U.K. welcomes Saudi King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s agreement to establish a joint working group to look into the matter.

He also said they welcome Saudi Arabia’s decision to ask the prosecutor general to establish an internal investigation into Khashoggi’s disappearance on Oct. 2 and hold people accountable if the evidence warrants it.

Çavuşoğlu and Hunt also talked about the agreement between Turkey and Russia to establish a demilitarized zone in Idlib, Syria, the fight against terrorism and Brexit, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

A British Foreign Office statement said Hunt “raised the situation in Syria, stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of civilians in Idlib and commended Turkey for hosting over 3.6 million refugees.”