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Erdogan offers few answers, no smoking gun in Khashoggi killing

The Turkish president shared few new details in his much anticipated public address on the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but made it clear that Ankara will continue pressure on Riyadh over the case.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Tumay Berkin - RC1197CC2600
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling party during a meeting at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 23, 2018. — REUTERS/Tumay Berkin

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan commanded a global audience from Ankara today, addressing for the first time in detail the circumstances surrounding the death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. But the Turkish leader stopped short of accusing any of the kingdom’s leaders by name.

Erdogan, who had riveted the world with pledges to reveal the truth “in all its nakedness” today, asserted that Khashoggi had been killed in a “savage” premeditated murder. “We have strong evidence in our hands that shows the murder wasn’t accidental but was instead the outcome of a planned operation,” Erdogan told members of his ruling Justice and Development Party in a parliamentary address that was broadcast live and translated simultaneously into Arabic and English.

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