Riyadh Seeking To Relocate Consulate From Istanbul After Khashoggi Murder - Ankara

Saudi Arabia is seeking to relocate its consulate general in Istanbul after the murder of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th November, 2018) Saudi Arabia is seeking to relocate its consulate general in Istanbul after the murder of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

"Such a wish exists, however, our ministry has not receives any official requests in this regard," the spokesperson said.

A journalist and a long-term critic of the Saudi domestic and foreign policy, Khashoggi disappeared on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia's acknowledgment that the journalist had been killed in a fight inside the consulate came after two weeks of denials and growing pressure from the Western allies to provide explanations.

Turkey, which has conducted a separate probe into the case, claims that Khashoggi was assassinated by a hit squad sent from Saudi Arabia.

According to Riyadh, 18 people have been arrested over their suspected involvement in the incident.

On October 26, the Saudi prosecutor general acknowledged that the journalist's murder had been premeditated, while Istanbul prosecutors said on October 31 that Khashoggi's body had been dismembered and destroyed after the murder.