Trump says Erdogan 'pretty rough' on Saudis over Khashoggi

WASHINGTON:  President Donald Trump said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was “pretty rough” on Saudi Arabia in remarks on Tuesday about the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and said Riyadh’s handling of the matter was “the worst cover-up ever.”

Trump told reporters he wanted to get all the facts on Khashoggi’s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul before agreeing with Erdogan’s assessment.

Trump, who sent his CIA director to Turkey to discuss the issue, said he expected to have a report pretty soon.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan dismissed Saudi efforts to blame the murder on rogue operatives and urged Riyadh to search “from top to bottom” to uncover those behind it, while U.S. Vice President Mike Pence described the killing as “barbaric.”

Khashoggi’s death in the Saudi consulate on Oct. 2 has caused global outrage and raised questions about the possible role of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the powerful de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia who tightly controls the kingdom’s security services.

Turkish officials suspect Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and critic of the crown prince, was killed and dismembered inside the consulate by Saudi agents.

Erdogan stopped short of mentioning the crown prince who some U.S. lawmakers suspect ordered the killing of the Washington Post columnist.

“The Saudi administration has taken an important step by admitting to the murder. From now on, we expect them to uncover all those responsible for this matter from top to bottom and make them face the necessary punishments,” Erdogan said in a speech in parliament.

“From the person who gave the order, to the person who carried it out, they must all be brought to account,” he said, adding that Riyadh needed to “uncover all those responsible for this matter from top to bottom.”

Turkish sources have said that authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the killing. Erdogan made no reference to any audio recording.