Turkey Says French Foreign Minister's Recent Claims Over Khashoggi Case Unacceptable

Umer Jamshaid Published November 12, 2018 | 10:16 PM

Turkey considers unacceptable the statement by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian who said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was allegedly "playing political games" in the case of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Turkish presidential administration's spokesman, Fahrettin Altun, said Monday.

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th November, 2018) Turkey considers unacceptable the statement by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian who said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was allegedly "playing political games" in the case of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Turkish presidential administration's spokesman, Fahrettin Altun, said Monday.

Earlier in the day, Le Drian said that Erdogan was playing political games after the Turkish president said he had shared with France tapes related to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Le Drian noted he was not aware whether Turkey had actually shared the information.

"French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's most recent comments on Turkey's handling of Jamal Khashoggi's murder do not reflect the facts. We find it unacceptable that he accused President Erdogan of 'playing political games.

' Let us not forget that the case would have been already covered up had it not been for Turkey's determined efforts," Altun said as quoted by the TRT World broadcaster.

Erdogan said the recordings were also shared with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Turkish media reported last month that investigators had audio tapes of the missing journalist being tortured.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist known for his criticism of Saudi policies, 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 Western allies to provide explanations.