Iranian FM hails Turkish stance on Khashoggi’s murder

By Muhammet Kursun

TEHRAN (AA) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday hailed the Turkish stance on the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The Turkish government examines the wicked case from different dimensions and pursues the process cautiously, impartially and skillfully,” Zarif told reporters.

“We hope the perpetrators will be identified at the end of the investigation,” he said.

Zarif arrived in Istanbul on Monday to attend a trilateral ministerial meeting between Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan and the opening of Istanbul’s third airport.

Zarif said the ministerial meeting will be a “very good chance” to exchange idea for expanding economic cooperation between the three countries.

Khashoggi, a columnist for The Washington Post, had gone missing since entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

After weeks of denying any knowledge of his whereabouts, Saudi officials on Oct. 20 admitted that Khashoggi had died inside the consulate building.

Turkish police have been investigating the case, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said 18 people arrested in Saudi Arabia over the killing should be sent to Turkey to face trial.