President Trump and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed how to respond to the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a White House spokesman confirmed to The Hill on Sunday.
The two discussed the matter at a dinner Saturday night with various heads of state in Paris to mark the World War I Armistice centenary, according to Reuters, who first reported details of the conversation.
Khashoggi disappeared after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, where Turkey has said he was tortured, murdered and then dismembered by Saudi operatives on orders from “the highest levels of the Saudi government.”
{mosads}Saudi Arabia has dodged the accusation and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has specifically denied having had any knowledge of the incident.
The kingdom admitted late last month that Khashoggi had been killed and that his murder was premeditated.
Erdoğan said earlier Saturday that Turkey gave recordings related to Khashoggi’s murder to various governments, including the U.S.
No country has acknowledged receiving the recordings and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denied last month that they he had heard the recordings or seen a transcript.
The Washington Post reported late last month that CIA Director Gina Haspel listened to a recording of Khashoggi’s murder during a visit. She briefed the president several days after.
The death of Khashoggi, a U.S. resident, has caused diplomatic strife between Saudi Arabia and the U.S.
The kingdom has been a longtime ally of America’s and the U.S. has backed it in a proxy war against Iran in Yemen.
The U.S. has frequently found itself opposed to Turkey, particularly in Syria, where Erdoğan has allied himself with Russia, Iran, and Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Now, the U.S. has called for a ceasefire in Yemen by the end of November, though government officials have said that the decision is unrelated to Khashoggi’s murder.