Addressing MPs from his ruling party, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi was planned days in advance. He claimed to have evidence of the “savage” and premeditated murder that took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2.
Rubbishing Saudi Arabia's claims that Khashoggi's death was accidental result of a discussion that went awry, the president said: "We have very strong leads that this was not accidental, but that it was planned." He observed that the cameras were removed before Khashoggi's arrival.
Erdogan said that Saudi Arabia gave permission for Turkish security to search its consulate in Istanbul only after media attention.
Erdogan has demanded that Saudi Arabia provide answers as to where Khashoggi's body was disposed and who ordered the hit. He called for suspects of the murder to be tried in Istanbul.
While not releasing any detail of the evidence gathered about the killing, the president confirmed that 18 people had been arrested in the kingdom in relation to the case.
Giving the timeline of the day Khashoggi was killed, he said that a group of 15 people arrived separately in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul before Khashoggi entered at 1.08pm. When his fiancee became fearful that something had happened to him, she alerted the police.
The president began his speech by offering his "sincere apologies" to Jamal Khashoggi's family, fiancee and the people of Saudi Arabia.
He made no mention of any audio or video recordings mentioned in media reports in the days following the journalist's disappearance.
Erdogan did not mention Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who some US lawmakers suspect ordered the killing. But he said Turkey would not complete its investigation into Khashoggi's death until all questions were answered.
Earlier media reports suggested that Turkish officials suspected Khashoggi was killed and dismembered inside the consulate by Saudi agents. Turkish sources had said that authorities have an audio recording purportedly documenting the killing of the 59-year-old.
Riyadh had initially denied knowledge of the killing, claiming Khashoggi left via the back door of the consulate, before saying he was killed in a fight in the consulate. This reaction was greeted sceptically by several governments, straining relations with the world's biggest oil exporter.