UAE Warns Against "Destabilizing" Saudi Arabia Over Khashoggi Case

Saudi Arabia has consistently denied allegations that Jamal Khashoggi could have been abducted or murdered inside its Consulate General in Istanbul, having granted permission to Turkish police to search the building.

The United Arab Emirates warned on October 19 that the growing controversy over the disappearance of The Washington Post columnist, Jamal Khashoggi, should not be used to undermine the stability of Saudi Arabia.

READ MORE: Staff at Saudi Consulate Giving Testimony Over Khashoggi Case — Reports

The UAE state minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, tweeted Friday that Abu Dhabi was "firmly" against the "politicization" of the Khashoggi case and "attempts to destabilize Saudi Arabia."

In a parallel development, the Anadolu agency reported that staff members from the Saudi Consulate General in Istanbul had started testifying at the prosecutor's office as part of an investigation into the journalist's disappearance

After Ankara expressed concern that the Saudi journalist could have been killed inside the Consulate, the kingdom flatly rejected any involvement, claiming that Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi consular premises on October 2, went missing after leaving the building. Riyadh also allowed Turkish police to search the Consulate in Istanbul to investigate the case.