Pompeo meets with Turkish leaders on missing Saudi writer

The US diplomat arrived in Ankara for talks with the Turkish leadership.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has met Turkey's president and foreign minister over the disappearance of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.
No details were immediately released about the talks between Pompeo and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Pompeo had just come from Riyadh, where he spoke on Tuesday with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Pompeo says Saudi Arabia has made a "serious commitment" to hold senior leaders and officials accountable in the case of Jamal Khashoggi.
Pompeo offered his assessment after talks with the Saudi leadership and said the Crown Prince denied any knowledge of what happened to Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

"My assessment from these meetings is that there is a serious commitment to determine all the facts and ensure accountability, including accountability for Saudi Arabia's senior leaders or senior officials," Pompeo said in a statement.

The top US diplomat also said the Saudi leadership "strongly denied any knowledge of what took place in their consulate in Istanbul."

But the Crown Prince "pledged that the work of the Saudi public prosecutor will produce a full and complete conclusion with full transparency for the world to see," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said his conversation with the Saudis were "direct and candid".

"I emphasised the importance of conducting a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation, and the Saudi leadership pledged to deliver precisely on that," he said.
Pompeo on Wednesday arrived at Ankara's Esenboga Airport, and immediately went into a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the VIP lounge before the Turkish leader flies to Moldova, an AFP correspondent said.
"The President has asked me to travel to Turkey to meet with senior leaders. We will remain in close contact with Saudi and Turkish authorities as they complete this process and ultimately announce their findings," Pompeo said in the statement earlier.
In Ankara, the Secretary will meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu to welcome the decision to release Pastor Andrew Brunson and to discuss other issues of bilateral importance. The Secretary will also discuss the Jamal Khashoggi case and reiterate the US offer to assist Turkey in its investigation, the State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

• Saudi Arabia