Western diplomatic efforts have not yet solved the mystery surrounding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on 2 October, even after Riyadh admitted that the killing had been “premeditated”. However, this does not mean that they have taken the side of Turkey in the controversy and over the tapes allegedly revealing what happened to Khashoggi in the consulate. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said his country had not received the recordings and seemed to contradict Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement that he had handed the tapes to France. Asked if Erdogan was lying, Le Drian said “he has a political game to play in these circumstances.” Last week Erdogan said Turkey had recordings of Khashoggi's murder, adding in a press conference that “we gave the recordings to Saudi Arabia, Washington, the Germans, the French and the British.” Turkey later expressed its anger through Erdogan's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun. “We find it unacceptable that [Le Drian] accused president Erdogan of ‘playing political games'. Let us not forget that this case would have been covered up had it not been for Turkey's determined efforts,” he said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canadian intelligence had listened to the recordings and added that he had not heard them himself. “Canada's intelligence agencies have been working very closely on this issue with Turkish intelligence,” he said. “Canada has been fully briefed on what Turkey had to share,” he added, saying he had spoken with Erdogan two weeks ago. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu had earlier said that his country had not shared the audio recordings, adding that it was in possession of evidence collected during its investigation into Khashoggi's murder. He denied reports that Turkey had shared its findings with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Turkey didn't present any audio recordings either to Pompeo or any other US official,” Çavuşoğlu said. “We will reveal the results in all transparency to the whole world. We didn't present information to any country,” he added. The US and UK have continued to honour their pledge that they will conduct a comprehensive investigation into Khashoggi's murder. Pompeo told Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman that Washington was “going to punish” those involved in the crime and that Saudi Arabia should do the same. Khashoggi's killing has put more pressure on relations between Washington and Riyadh. UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt flew to Saudi Arabia and the UAE on Monday to discuss the war in Yemen and Khashoggi's killing. No details have been revealed about Hunt's meeting with Saudi King Salman or with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed. Elsewhere in the Middle East, other events have overshadowed Khashoggi's murder. The US sanctions on Iran are now preventing Tehran from selling its oil production, and they may result in increasing the political and economic weight of Saudi Arabia, the largest oil-exporting country capable of covering the production of Iran. The Saudi-led Arab Coalition in Yemen is seeking to prevent Yemen's Houthi rebels from consolidating their control of the country, with intensified shelling taking place in the coastal city of Hodeidah through which 80 per cent of the country's medical, food and oil supplies enter. International pressure continues on Saudi Arabia to ease the bombings and pave the way for negotiations, as has been called for by the UN, said former Yemeni minister Mohamed Al-Mekhlafi. “The case of Khashoggi is important, of course. But if Riyadh puts a peace card on the table, that would be much more important still,” he said. “It is true that the world is angry about the fate of the Saudi journalist, but it should be more concerned about a country whose people in their millions are being lost to famine.” Saudi concerns about Iran, and US worries about Russian expansion, will likely mean Khashoggi's murder will be forgotten, according to Al-Mekhlafi. “Neither the Americans nor the Europeans can afford to lose weapons and oil deals with the Saudis over any case, no matter its moral value,” he said. Putting an end to the war in Yemen will ease the pressure on Western governments and boost US and European public opinion, Al-Mekhlafi opined. Turkey, however, fears further US-Saudi cooperation before it achieves its goal of controlling northern Syria, he continued. “The US-Saudi convergence will leave Russia facing Turkey. In this case, Moscow will not allow Ankara to share its victory in Syria,” he said. “This will be a great loss to Turkey, which has invested a lot to bring about the downfall of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.” “Ankara doesn't wish to see Damascus victorious, as this way Erdogan's opponents can't accuse him of defeat,” Al-Mekhlafi added.
