We’re closing the liveblog now. Thanks for reading. Here is Bethan McKernan’s snap news story on Erdoğan’s speech:
Updated
A bit more on the possible strategy at “Davos in the desert”:
Saudi press reinforces MBS message that he’s giving up on West and “looking East” for his ill-fated investment forum pic.twitter.com/DCUwsfhMKz
— Mohamad Bazzi (@BazziNYU) October 23, 2018
Here are the main points made in today’s speech by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:
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The “savage murder” of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a premeditated, and meticulously planned, political operation, with Saudi officials scoping out forest areas outside Istanbul the day before Khashoggi died
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While Saudi Arabia has “taken an important step by admitting the murder”, those responsible must be held to account and an independent, criminal investigation needs to be carried out by Turkish authorities
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Of the 18 men arrested by Saudi Arabia in the investigation, 15 have already been identified by Turkish police as members of the hit squad who flew in and out of Istanbul the same day Khashoggi was killed.
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Riyadh’s suggestion the killing was a rogue extradition operation gone wrong is unsatisfactory and Turkey’s investigation is still ongoing. Erdoğan also strongly criticised Saudi Arabia’s “inconsistent statements” over the case so far, and demanded the kingdom identify the “local collaborator” who allegedly disposed of Khashoggi’s body.
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Tellingly, Erdoğan spoke of Saudi King Salman’s “sincerity” in the investigation so far, but made no mention of his son, Mohammed bin Salman, whom it is believed was probably aware of, and possibly even ordered, the silencing of his prominent critic.
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Here’s some more analysis from our Middle East editor, Martin Chulov:
Erdoğan clearly calculated that it did not suit him, or Turkey, to release the audio of the killing, and apparent video – both of which multiple sources have confirmed that his officials indeed have.
His decision to return the onus to Saudi Arabia was interesting, and unexpected. After exerting extreme pressure on the kingdom through more than a fortnight of piecemeal leaks, he opted out of a coup de grace when he had the world’s attention.
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From the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour:
Presume Erdogan knows more than he revealed today, and capitals know he knows more. Known Knowns increase his bargaining power. Striking that he said he believed King Salman was sincere, but did not say same of Crown Prince.
— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) October 23, 2018
Erdogan's speech about #JamalKhashoggi's murder fell well short of expectations. He didn't mention the apparent tape of the killing, or the video of hitmen carrying Khashoggi's body.
— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) October 23, 2018
A bit from the Riyadh investment forum:
Saudi Arabia says organisers will be signing deals worth $50bn at the start of a major economic forum in Riyadh.
The Future Investment Initiative forum, which began on Tuesday, is the brainchild of Mohammed bin Salman. It’s aimed at drawing more foreign investment into the kingdom and to help create desperately needed jobs for its youthful population.
The deals will be in manufacturing, transportation and other fields.
Prince Mohammed was not immediately at the forum when it started.
The forum last year proved to be a glitzy affair that drew more international business attention to the kingdom. This year’s event meanwhile has seen business leaders drop out over Khashoggi’s murder. (Via AP)
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The Guardian’s Middle East editor, Martin Chulov, writes:
There were few new details in Erdoğan’s speech, which fell short of the expectations he himself had set by claiming it would reveal the “full naked truth” behind Jamal Khashoggi’s death.
- A team of three people arrived from Riyadh on 1 October, the day before the disappearance, and scouted a forest near Istanbul. The implication is that the three men were looking for a place to discard Khashoggi’s remains.
- The 18 people arrested by Riyadh included all those who Turkey had named as assassins, as well as three other men, whose identities have not been revealed.
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Erdoğan made no reference to audio or video recordings, which would be deeply damaging to Saudi leaders.
He asked for the 18 men to be tried in Istanbul. Throughout his address, he remained deferential to King Salman, and made no mention of the embattled crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
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Erdoğan’s speech carried a strong implication that the Turkish president does not think Bin Salman is innocent in this case, says our Turkey and Middle East correspondent, Bethan McKernan. Erdoğan also wants Turkey to conduct the criminal investigation.
Updated
Erdoğan’s address has made it crystal clear that the murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a premeditated and meticulously planned political assassination. He mentioned that reconnaissance teams went as far as scouting forest areas near Istanbul.
Bethan McKernan on some very telling language from Erdoğan:
“I do not doubt the sincerity of King Salman. That being said, independent investigation needs to be carried out. This is a political killing”
- That’s huge from Erdoğan. Doesn’t mention MbS’s innocence or have faith in Saudi investigation
Erdoğan: Turkish security services have evidence that the murder was a planned affair. Turkey and the world will only be satisfied when all the planners and perpetrators are held to account. Other countries must participate in the investigation.
Erdoğan: why was the 15-man Saudi team in Turkey? On whose orders? Why was the consulate not opened to investigators immediately? Why were so many different statements given by Saudis? Who is the local collaborator who disposed of Khashoggi’s body? Saudi must answer all these questions.
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Erdoğan: significant that the Saudis have admitted Khashoggi was murdered. Those involved must face justice.
Erdoğan: evidence suggests Khashoggi was the victim of a “gruesome murder” and an atrocity that must not be covered up.
Erdoğan: Khashoggi’s death is an international issue - and one that Turkey will pursue.
Erdoğan: the consulate is on sovereign Turkish soil and the Geneva convention cannot provide a shield of diplomatic immunity.
Updated
Erdoğan speaking about slanderous media campaigns against Turkey; but says country will not give in.
#Erdogan says a team of three #Saudi officials scouted a forest in Istanbul one day before he was killed.
— Martin Chulov (@martinchulov) October 23, 2018
Erdoğan: Saudis claimed Khashoggi “died in a melee”.
Erdoğan: Spoke to Saudi king and have agreed to create a joint working group that has begun work.
Erdoğan: Turkey has said it will not stay silent over the murder and has been awaiting investigation conclusions.
Erdoğan: 15 Saudis involved in the murder. Confirms that Khashoggi lookalike was employed. Says Saudi authorities initially denied that Khashoggi disappeared in the consulate.
Erdoğan: Turkish authorities looking at taking diplomatic action over the murder.
Updated
Erdoğan: Khashoggi never heard from again after entering consulate on the afternoon of 2 October. His wife-to-be reported that he was being held against his will.
Erdoğan: a team of nine people - including generals, flew in from Saudi Arabia.
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Erdoğan: two Saudi teams involved in the murder.
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Erdoğan offering a summary of Khashoggi’s movements on the day he disappeared - and saying team “that planned and executed the murder” were informed of his visit the day before.
Erdoğan now talking about “the murder” of Khashoggi and sending his condolences to friends and family.
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Erdoğan expected to address the Khashoggi case imminently.
Erdoğan is now talking about national infrastructure projects. Still no mention of Khashoggi despite the massive international interest.
Erdoğan is talking about Moldova and Hungary ...
Erdoğan is speaking ...
President Erdoğan is in parliament, but things are clearly running late as he was due to begin his speech 20 minutes ago.
Here’s AFP on who’s attending the Riyadh conference - and who’s not ...
The timing of the controversy could not be worse for Prince Mohammed as the investment summit, dubbed ‘Davos in the desert’, began in Riyadh, overshadowed by big name cancellations and Erdogan’s threat of revelations.
Dozens of executives, including from banks Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, ride-hailing app Uber and Western officials such as International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde have pulled out of the three-day Future Investment Initiative (FII).
French energy giant Total’s head Patrick Pouyanne, however, said he would attend the meeting, arguing that “empty chair politics” do not advance human rights.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would not export arms to Riyadh “in the current situation,” despite Germany’s approval last month of 416 million euros’ ($480 million) worth of arms exports in 2018.
Despite also pulling out of the summit, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met the crown prince behind closed doors for bilateral talks in Riyadh.
(Via AFP)
Reporters attending the Riyadh investment conference have been sent an email to inform them that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), will not be speaking at the event today.
Ooh. Official conference schedule just emailed through - MbS now not down to speak today. pic.twitter.com/C9TfgiONnP
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 23, 2018
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Bethan’s done a quick catch-up of where the US government is on all this:
CIA director Gina Haspel flew to Ankara overnight to assist with the investigation, Donald Trump said.
There’s been a lot of speculation about Riyadh trying to cut a deal with Ankara to minimise any damage to House of Saud and MbS - but it seems like at the eleventh hour the US may have stepped in to play that role instead.
Trump has flipflopped over this case - but they need MbS to survive this almost as much as the House of Saud does.
So what can Washington offer Ankara? They want sanctions lifted, US-backed Kurdish militias in Syria curbed, and Fethullah Gülen extradited. The Turkish foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, said this morning that US sanctions on two Turkish ministers would be lifted. That’s probably because Turkey released detained American pastor Andrew Brunson two weeks ago - a sign there’s a thaw in relations there.
Haspel will have been working overtime. Whether it’s enough to convince Erdoğan not to go for MbS’ jugular in the Khashoggi case is another matter.
This from our Middle East editor, Martin Chulov, who’s at the investment conference in Riyadh
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s address to the Turkish parliament is much anticipated in Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia’s investment conference has gotten under way.
With most western business and media partners, and many speakers, pulling out, there were doubts that the conference would even go ahead.
But many speakers have been replaced. Russian and Gulf TV stations have stepped in to cover the event, and the meeting halls in the Ritz Carlton are bustling with delegates – though not as many as last year.
Ahead of Erdoğan’s speech, expected around 1145 local time, a sense of unease is evident. The murder of Jamal Khashoggi is not being readily discussed. Most people seem to want it to go away.
Regional diplomats are saying the Turkish leader is playing the entire affair like a fiddle, writes Helena Smith, our correspondent in the Greek capital:
What we are seeing is the old Erdoğan, masterfully playing emotions, and one against the other, to win his way,” said one well-placed source in Athens.
“He has turned an atrocious affair to his advantage with the skill of a master player whose ultimate goal is power projection in the region.”
Updated
Such are the stakes when Erdoğan takes to a podium to discuss the death of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi that the region may not be the same when he’s finished.
Three weeks to the day since Khashoggi vanished after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Erdoğan has pledged to table the “naked truth” about what happened to the columnist and critic, whose fate continues to grip both countries and polarise the Middle East.
If he stays true to his pledge, much of the evidence that Turkey has gathered, incriminating Saudi Arabia in a plot to kill Khashoggi, will be revealed: in pictures, video and even bloodcurdling audio said to document his torture and death.
Setting the scene on Monday, a spokesman for the ruling party for the first time described Khashoggi’s death as a ‘complicated murder’ that was ‘monstrously planned’.
Updated
Gina Haspel flew into Ankara overnight - a sign of panic from Trump admin that MbS, who is the keystone of Trump's Middle East policy, is about to be implicated. Has she been able to talk Erdogan down? https://t.co/V5YrDpEn5e
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 23, 2018
Worth noting - while Western big cheeses may have pulled out, many governments and companies have still sent representatives to Davos in the Desert. Russian and Asian firms, on the other hand, have sent in the big guns, and are likely to hoover up lucrative Vision 2030 contracts https://t.co/36Ca0Sx2F2
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 23, 2018
There’s more detail on the case in this visual guide to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi:
AP have picked up some quotes from the Turkish foreign minister, who says the country would be prepared to cooperate with international bodies if they were to launch an independent probe into the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
In an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also said on Tuesday that Turkey has not shared evidence concerning his death at the Saudi consulate with any country but added that there may have been “an exchange of views between intelligence organisations”.
Saudi Arabia has said Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi royal family, was killed on 2 October in a ‘fistfight’ with officials sent to encourage him to return to the kingdom. Turkish media and officials say the 59-year-old Washington Post columnist was killed and dismembered by a 15-man Saudi hit squad.
Çavuşoğlu said: ‘If a request for an international investigation is made ... we would cooperate.’
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My colleague Bethan McKernan has sketched out a very useful guide to what’s happened so far in the case of the death of Jamal Khashoggi:
A little video clip here of Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative from Bloomberg’s Vivian Nereim:
Standing room only at Saudi Arabia’s “Future Investment Initiative” conference today, even after many executives pulled out over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. People are actually getting blocked at the door because it’s too full. No robots this year #tictocnews #FII pic.twitter.com/oC3OMPUArE
— Vivian Nereim (@viviannereim) October 23, 2018
If you’re not already, do follow the Guardian’s Turkey and Middle East correspondent, Bethan McKernan on Twitter:
Good morning from Istanbul, where people are on edge.
— Bethan McKernan (@mck_beth) October 23, 2018
Khashoggi disappeared exactly three weeks ago. At 1145 (0945BST, 0445EST) Erdogan is going to tell the "naked truth" in his weekly parliamentary address. At the same time, MbS will address a large conference in Riyadh.
As we wait for Erdoğan to speak, AFP has some comments from Saudi Arabia:
The killing of a critic like Jamal Khashoggi is something that must “never happen again”, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said on Tuesday, as he pledged a full investigation into the journalist’s death.
Saudi Arabia’s leadership will “see to it that the investigation is thorough and complete and that the truth is revealed and those responsible will be held to account”, al-Jubeir told reporters after meeting with his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta.
“And that mechanism and procedures are put in place to ensure that something like this can never happen again.”
(Via AFP)
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Welcome to live coverage of Erdoğan’s speech
Hello and welcome to our coverage of the Turkish president’s planned address to parliament on the events of 2 October, when the Saudi journalist Jamaal Khashoggi entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, but never left.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to speak at 11.45am local time (0845 GMT).
He has previously said that details of the Washington Post journalist’s killing “will be revealed in all its nakedness” on Tuesday, the same day as the opening of a glitzy investment forum in Riyadh spearheaded by the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
On Friday, after weeks of denials, the Saudis admitted for the first time that Khashoggi, a prominent critic of the crown prince, had been killed after entering the consulate to organise paperwork for his marriage. His fiancee had been waiting for him at the front of the building. She is now under 24-hour police protection.
(October 3, 2018)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tells Bloomberg he understands Khashoggi left the consulate after “a few minutes or one hour”. Turkish authorities are welcome to search the diplomatic mission because “we have nothing to hide”, he says.
(October 4, 2018)
The Saudi consulate in Istanbul tweets that is following up on reports of Khashoggi’s disappearance “after he left the building”. Saudi ambassador Walid bin Abdul Karim El Khereiji denies any knowledge of Khashoggi’s whereabouts, Turkish media says.
(October 6, 2018)
Riyadh sends investigators to cooperate with Turkey. Consul general Mohammed al-Otaibi tells Reuters all talk of kidnapping is baseless.
(October 7, 2018)
Otaibi gives Reuters a tour of the consulate. Around midnight, Turkish officials say Khashoggi was killed there. A Saudi statement describes the Turkish allegations as baseless.
(October 8, 2018)
US ambassador Prince Khaled bin Salman tells Axios the kingdom had nothing to do with the case.
(October 11, 2018)
Prince Khalid describes allegations against the kingdom as “malicious leaks and grim rumours”. Turkey and Saudi Arabia form a joint working group.
(October 13, 2018)
Saudi Arabia’s interior minister describes claims in the media that there were “orders to kill [Khashoggi]” as “lies and baseless allegations”. Later, Turkish officials leak details and say he was dismembered with a bone saw.
(October 15, 2018)
Donald Trump tweets that he had spoken with King Salman, who “denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened”. Saudi-owned al Arabiya TV says 15 men identified by Turkish media on 10 October as part of a hit squad were misidentified “tourists”. Turkish investigators are allowed to search the consulate building.
(October 16, 2018)
Trump speaks with Mohammed bin Salman, then tweets that the crown prince “totally denied” any knowledge of what happened and Riyadh was launching a thorough investigation.
(October 17, 2018)
The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, says Saudi Arabia has made a “serious commitment” to hold anyone responsible accountable.
(October 19, 2018)
Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor says investigations show a fistfight led to Khashoggi’s death. Eighteen people have been arrested and two officials close to bin Salman fired.
(October 21, 2018)
A Saudi official tells Reuters 15 officials travelled to Istanbul to meet Khashoggi, who had expressed interest in returning home. They threatened to kidnap him; Khashoggi resisted, and was accidentally choked to death during attempts to stop him shouting. An official dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes to make it appear as if he had left the consulate. The body was given to a “local collaborator” who disposed of it. The team then lied to Riyadh to cover up the fact Khashoggi had died.
Catch up with our latest news story previewing Erdoğan’s speech here:
Updated
