BFF-53 Turkey’s Erdogan could meet Saudi Crown Prince on G20 sidelines: spokesman

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TURKEY-SAUDI-DIPLOMACY

Turkey’s Erdogan could meet Saudi Crown Prince on G20 sidelines: spokesman

ANKARA, Nov 22, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
could meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of a G20
summit in Argentina next week amid tensions between Ankara and Riyadh, the
Turkish presidential spokesman said Thursday.

“We are looking at the programme,” spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in Ankara.
“There could be” a meeting between the two men, he said.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are clashing over the murder of Riyadh critic and
Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, 59, inside the kingdom’s
consulate in Istanbul last month.

Such a meeting would be the first face-to-face encounter between Erdogan
and the crown prince since the killing that tainted the image of Prince
Salman, known as MBS, who is seen as the driving force in day-to-day rule of
the kingdom. The two men previously spoke on the phone last month where they
discussed joint efforts to shed light on what happened to Khashoggi.

Khashoggi, a US resident and Saudi citizen, was lured to the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul on October 2, killed and dismembered, according to
Turkish prosecutors.

After lengthy denials, Saudi authorities admitted responsibility and said
21 people had been taken into custody.

However, a CIA analysis leaked to the US media went further, reportedly
pointing the finger at the crown prince.

Turkey has repeatedly called for those who ordered the murder to be held
accountable but has stopped short of directly blaming Prince Mohammed.

BSS/AFP/ARS/1902 hrs