Erdogan in his own words

Turkish President Erdogan has published an op-ed in the Washington Post that's somewhat contradictory and confusing.

  • "W know that the order to kill Khashoggi came from the highest levels of the Saudi government."

  • "I have no reason to believe that his murder reflected Saudi Arabia's official policy"

  • "I do not believe for a second that King Salman, the custodian of the holy mosques, ordered the hit"

  • "I would be wrong to view the Khashoggi slaying as a "problem" between two countries"

The op-ed doesn't name the Crown Prince as the culprit but it features a picture of him, which might be the newspaper's way of pointing the finger rather than Erdogan's.

More highlights:

  • It is deeply concerning that no action has been taken against the Saudi consul general

  • The Khashoggi murder was a clear violation and a blatant abuse of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

  • The refusal of the Saudi public prosecutor to cooperate with the investigation and answer even simple questions is very frustrating

Aside from the contradictions above, the greatest contradiction here is Erdogan -- who is clearly no angel -- is portraying himself as some kind of champion for laws, decency and rights. Estimates suggest 180,000 people were arrested after the July 15 'coup', including 10% of public employees and 2800 judges.