Digging deeper into Khashoggi's disappearance

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Saudi Arabia has assured the United States that they will conduct a complete and transparent investigation into the fate of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkish officials believe that Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, where he was supposed to sign divorce papers so he could marry his Turkish fiancée.

When he left Saudi Arabia in September 2017 to "self-exile" in the United States, Khashoggi's relationship with the Saudi government was already very bad. Before his disappearance, he worked as columnist at The Washington Post, often slamming the Saudi authorities.

Ahmed AI-Ibrahim, a political and security analyst stated that the Saudi royal family is deeply saddened by a Saudi citizen going missing on the Turkish soil and the case turning into a global issue.

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Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is eager to find the truth, he said, despite Ankara accusing Riyadh of being behind the disappearance of the dissident journalist.

Saudi authorities opened an investigation and sent a team to Turkey in order to find the trail of Jamal Khashoggi from the US to the United Kingdom, then to Turkey.

Ali AI-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs said Turkey has confirmed that Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate.

"It is not surprising for us that the Saudi narrative will obviously be denial and pretending that they have nothing to do with it,” said AI-Ahmed, stating that for the purpose of gaining an advantage in the negotiation with the US, Turkey is deliberately hiding the evidence of Khashoggi's death.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo makes a statement to the press after meeting with US President Donald J. Trump following his trip to the Middle East to meet with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey on the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Washington DC, on October 18, 2018. /VCG Photo

Daniel Serwer, director of the Conflict Management Program at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, said a report about what happened to Khashoggi is only a matter of time. The US government is obviously going to watch the investigation up close because it will have an impact on its relationship with Riyadh.

"I think the United States and Saudi royal family know exactly what happened," said Serwer. He said Trump is aligning himself as closely with the royal family perspective as possible. The problem for the United States is that it needs the support from Saudis for many things, including the Iran nuclear issue, the Syrian war and the protection of oil prices from dropping.

The very recent trip of the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Middle East was believed to be designed for the purpose of demonstrating the close ties between the US and the Saudi Royal family

AI-Ibrahim noted that Saudi Arabia is willing to wait for the results of the investigation, emphasizing that the media is attacking Riyadh.

He noted that Riyadh would like to work with the international community, adding that the United States is its best ally and that Saudi authorities would like to continue their relationship with Washington, but the media has been undermining this.

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