Turkey waits consensus on Saudi consul residence search

By Aylin Sirikli

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish interior minister on Wednesday said a search at the residence of the Saudi consul general over the missing Saudi journalist case will begin once a joint consensus is reached.

Speaking at Anadolu Agency Editor's Desk, Suleyman Soylu said, "There is an agreement, but for the search to start, there must be a joint consensus. The joint consensus is on the wait."

"Once a joint consensus is reached, this step [to search the residence] will be taken," he added.

Soylu further stressed that if permission to search the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul was granted earlier, there would not be "any debates" regarding incident.

"We have managed and are continuing to manage this issue transparently and open to the world within the measures given by law," he said.

Soylu also emphasized that the case was not only a global matter, but also a test for the Turkish judiciary.

Following permission for a search of the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkish and Saudi officials are to search the residence of the Saudi consul concerning the case of a missing journalist.

Amid the ongoing investigation of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi however, Saudi Arabia's Consul General in Istanbul Mohammad al-Otaibi left Turkey for Riyadh on Tuesday.

Khashoggi has long been feared killed at the consulate after he entered the Saudi Consulate building in Istanbul on Oct. 2 and was never seen exiting.

On the same day, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while Khashoggi was still inside, Turkish police sources said. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.