Turkey calls for international investigation into Khashoggi murder

Turkey wants an international probe into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Ankara said on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a multi-national investigation is key to uncovering the the facts of Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October.

"At the current stage we believe an international investigation is a must," he said, according to Anadolu agency.

Khashoggi disappeared when he entered the Saudi consulate to complete routine paperwork with both Ankara and Riyadh concluding that he was murdered.

Saudi Arabia has said a group of leading officials carried out the killing, but insisted that powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was not behind the operation.

This account has been treated with sceptism from many, including Ankara.

Meanwhile Turkey has voiced frustration at a lack of cooperation from Saudi Arabia in a joint investigation, with Ankara leaking information and audio recording details from the murder case.

Cavusoglu suggested that an international investigation could help Turkish authorities in the case, and has shared the audio recordings with Saudi, US, UK, and French intelligence.

"We will do whatever needed to shed light on all its aspects of this murder," Cavusoglu said. Khashoggi was one of the best-known journalists in the Arab world, and had been increasingly critical of the growing power and influence of Mohammed bin Salman.

The crown prince has launched a crackdown on rival royals, powerful business people and activists to help cement his rule.

Earlier on Wednesday, Turkey's president said that international NGOs should oversee any trial involving Khashoggi's killers.

"Let the human rights units from all respected organisations, from the United Nations to the European Union, come and watch this trial," said Omer Celik, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).

"Let them judge whether the trial fits the standards of international law," Celik, a former minister, told a news conference.