Turkey on Friday denied giving “any kind of audio tape” from the investigation into the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo or any American official.
“It is out of the question for Turkey to give any kind of audio tape to Pompeo or any other US official,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, two days after meeting with the US’s top diplomat for talks in Ankara.
Turkey’s pro-government press has reported that Turkey has an audio recording that proves the murder of Khashoggi at the consulate and that he was tortured before his death.
The existence of the tape has never been confirmed on the record by Turkish officials.
ABC News, quoting a senior Turkish official, reported Thursday that during his visit to Turkey this week Pompeo heard this audio and was shown a transcript of the recording. But Pompeo denied the report.
“I’ve seen no tape. I’ve seen no — or I’ve heard no tape. I’ve seen no transcript,” he told reporters during a trip to Latin America.
Cavusoglu, like other Turkish officials, stopped short of revealing details of the investigation but vowed they would be shared in due course.
“We will share the results to emerge with the entire world. It is out of the question for us to share this or that information with any country,” he said, quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Source: AFP
