Mike Pompeo To Hold Talks in Turkey Following Riyadh Visit Over Khashoggi

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will hold talks in Turkey on Wednesday, the Turkish foreign ministry said, after a visit to Riyadh where the top American diplomat was discussing the case of missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Pompeo will meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to discuss bilateral and regional issues including Syria, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

The statement did not refer to the disappearance of Khashoggi after his visit to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to receive documents ahead of his wedding.

Before his visit was confirmed, Cavusoglu earlier said Pompeo would inform Turkey about his meetings in Riyadh as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia seek a way out of the crisis.

Pompeo on Tuesday met with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The disappearance has led to international outrage with questions remaining unanswered.

The Turkish leadership has yet to publicly accuse Saudi Arabia in the case but government sources said police believed the journalist had been killed by a special team of 15 Saudi officials sent to Istanbul especially for the task. Riyadh dismissed the claims.

Turkish investigators searched the consulate overnight for eight hours to find out what happened to Khashoggi.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier on Tuesday said toxic material was found which had been “painted over”, but added the investigations continued.

A Turkish diplomatic source said police would search the residence of the Saudi consul in Istanbul as part of their probe but it was not known when it would take place.

Ahead of the search, Saudi consul general Mohammed al-Otaibi left Istanbul and was on a plane bound for Riyadh, according to Turkish state media.

Cavusoglu also said the prosecutor conducting an investigation could ask for statements from anyone deemed relevant to the probe.

Turkish Employees Given Day Off at Saudi Consulate on Day Khashoggi Disappeared