Turkish FM Says Ankara Could Seek UN Probe into Khashoggi Murder

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he has discussed with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday the case of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

However, Ankara is not satisfied with the cooperation it is receiving from Riyadh over the murder of Khashoggi and may seek a formal United Nations inquiry over the issue if its liaising with SAudi Arabia comes to an impasse, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Mevlut Cavusoglu.

Last week, a CIA leak to several news outlets revealed a "high confidence" intelligence assessment that the October 2 murder of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul had been ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Meanwhile, S President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the CIA did not determine whether Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was aware of the prepared assassination.

"They did not make a determination," Trump said. "They did not make that assessment. The CIA has looked at it. They’ve studied it a lot. They have nothing definitive. And the fact maybe he did, maybe he didn’t."

READ MORE: Saudis Ready to Find Alternative Arms Suppliers Amid Khashoggi Scandal

Earlier on Tuesday, US Senator Dianne Feinstein expressed shock that Trump had said there would be no punishment for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and vowed to oppose all future US arms sales and financial aid to Riyadh.

"I plan to vote against any future arms sales and appropriation to Saudi Arabia," Feinstein said on Tuesday. "I also believe that the United States should consider sanctions against the crown prince and that the Saudi ambassador to the United States should not be allowed to continue in that role."

"The facts are clear. Khashoggi, a US resident and columnist for a US newspaper, was killed by agents of the Saudi government in a Saudi consulate. This was a premeditated murder, plain and simple," Feinstein said.

Khashoggi went missing on October 2, after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Riyadh has initially denied any knowledge of the journalist's whereabouts, however, later the Saudi authorities admitted that the Washington Post columnist had died inside the consulate.

On November 15, the Saudi Prosecutor General's Office said that the journalist had been killed with a drug injection and his body had been dismembered and taken out of the consulate, adding that a total of 21 people had been detained in relation to the case.

READ MORE: Saudi FM Blasts 'CIA Report' on Crown Prince's Alleged Role in Khashoggi Killing

US lawmakers have called for further action against the government of Saudi Arabia, including axing the arms deal with the kingdom over the Khashoggi murder. The Trump administration has already sanctioned 17 Saudi nationals who were allegedly involved in the killing.