Turkey Isn’t Aiming for Regime Change in Saudi Arabia, Official Says

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey is investigating a crime that could lead to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but has no interest in interfering in Saudi internal affairs or trying to influence who becomes the next king, an official at Turkey’s presidential palace told Bloomberg.

If, however, the investigation into those responsible for the killing of Saudi insider-turned-critic Jamal Khashoggi leads to the crown prince, “then that’s his problem,” said the official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

“Somebody must have given the orders” and it’s not believable that a band of officials close to Prince Mohammed would have taken matters into their own hands, the official added. The Saudis need to answer questions including about what happened to the body, and the identity of an alleged local collaborator who took possession of it, the person said.

The U.S. appears to be starting to put distance between itself and whoever might be responsible for Khashoggi’s killing, the official said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara at shacaoglu@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Mark Williams

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