UPDATE - Trump yet to speak to Saudis about missing journalist

ADDS STATE DEPARTMENT COMMENTS

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has yet to speak to Saudi officials about the case of a Saudi journalist who went missing in Turkey last week.

Trump said he would raise the case "at some point" with Riyadh, but did not specify when the talks would take place.

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday invited Turkish experts and officials to visit its Istanbul Consulate to look into last week’s disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi.

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

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

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

The consulate said 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 he was last seen entering the building.

The State Department later Tuesday called on the Saudi government "to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation.”

“The United States is certainly concerned about his whereabouts, senior officials at the State Department have spoken to Saudi officials through diplomatic channels about the matter,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

*Umar Farooq contributed to this story.