Erdogan calls for Saudis to reveal who gave order to kill journalist Khashoggi
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Saudi Arabia to reveal who ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and disclose the location of his body.
Erdogan ramped up the global pressure on the Saudi government following the killing of Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.
But the Kremlin said Russia had no reason to doubt the Saudi's assertions that the royal family were not involved.
Riyadh has changed its story multiple times regarding the death of the US resident, who was a prominent critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The Turkish president demanded answers on who was behind the killing, which saw a 15-strong hit man squad fly into Istanbul on the day of the murder.
“Who gave this order? Who gave the order for 15 people to come to Turkey?” he said in a speech to members to his AK Party in Ankara on Friday.
Earlier this week the Saudi government said 18 people had been arrested and five senior officials sacked as part of the investigation.
The kingdom's public prosecutor has said the murder was premeditated.
Erdogan he spoke to the Prince Mohammad, he said: “I also told the crown prince. I said, 'You know how to make people talk. Whatever happened between these 18 people, this dodgy business is among them. If you are determined to lift suspicion, then the key point of our cooperation is these 18 people.'"
Saudi officials initially denied any involvement but the kingdom has since admitted he was killed in a botched operation.