Turkish experts invited to Saudi Consulate for probe

By Nazli Yuzbasioglu

ANKARA (AA) - Saudi Arabia on Tuesday invited Turkish experts and relevant officials to visit its Istanbul Consulate to look into last week’s disappearance of a Saudi journalist.

According to diplomatic sources, a diplomatic note was sent to the Turkish Foreign Ministry inviting Turkish officials to visit the consulate, where Jamal Khashoggi was last seen entering a week ago.

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia conveys its regards to the brotherly Republic of Turkey,” began the note.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invites Turkish experts and relevant officials to visit the Istanbul Consulate in line with the cooperation principle with the government of Republic of Turkey and due to the importance the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia lays on finding the truth about Saudi Arabian citizen son of Hamza Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi's incident of disappearance."

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said earlier today that a "search will be conducted in the [consulate] building as part of the investigation."

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, has been missing since he entered the consulate on Oct. 2.

Turkish police investigating the case said on Saturday that 15 Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and entered the consulate while Khashoggi was inside.

Istanbul prosecutors are investigating the incident, while the consulate said on Twitter that it was working in coordination with Turkish authorities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for Saudi officials to prove their contention that Khashoggi left the consulate, as most accounts say the last he was seen was entering the building.