17 October 2018•Update: 17 October 2018
ANKARA
U.S. Secretary of State on Wednesday arrived in Turkey to discuss the case of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi Washington Post journalist who has been missing since entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
Mike Pompeo's plane landed at Esenboga International Airport in the capital Ankara at 09:40 a.m. local time (0640 GMT).
The U.S. Secretary of State, along with his delegation, will initially be received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he is expected to provide a briefing about his meetings in Saudi Arabia.
Prior to his visit to Ankara, Pompeo went to Saudi Arabia, where he held talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
"We had direct and candid conversations. I emphasized the importance of conducting a thorough, transparent, and timely investigation, and the Saudi leadership pledged to deliver precisely on that," Pompeo said after the meeting.
Following his meeting with Erdogan, Pompeo is expected to meet Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and address bilateral relations, the Syria issue along with regional and international developments.
On Monday, Turkish and Saudi officials searched the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul after the start of a joint probe into the missing journalist.
Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of what happened to Khashoggi, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K. -- are pressing for the mystery to be cleared up as soon as possible.
Reporting byAhmet Furkan Mercan:Writing by Merve Aydogan
