Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul on October 2 to obtain a document certifying he divorced his ex-wife, but he has not been seen since. Turkish security officials claim that there is strong evidence that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate and his body has been dismembered to be transferred outside. Saudi officials have countered the claim, asking Turkey to provide the necessary evidence to prove the allegations.

Usually when security officials in a country confirm an incident and insist on their views, they should not be ignored. Particularly, with the advancement of intelligence systems, security officials can easily understand what is happening inside foreign embassies, or even they may have the sound record or image of the incident.

Today, in many countries, especially NATO members, there are systems whose main task is to keep track of diplomats’ communications. These systems covertly watch the activities of foreign agencies.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, modern-day supercomputers available to security agencies can tap mobile phones, fax machines, e-mails, and take satellite images; therefore, the Turkish authorities cannot be unaware of what has happened inside the consulate.

Telephone conversations between King Salman and Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the deployment of head of intelligence of the kingdom Khaled al-Hamidan to investigate Khashoggi’s case, exchange of information with security officials in Turkey, and possibly receiving evidence related to the disappearance of Saudi journalist confirm the claims raised by Turkey.

Of course, it is unlikely that the outcome of the talks between the security authorities of Turkey and Saudi Arabia will be publicly announced, and the aspects of the murder or abduction of the Saudi journalist is unlikely to be published, as Ankara and Riyadh may compromise over the case.

Naturally, the Saudi government will try to use its petrodollars to mask the case just like the crisis of abducting Saad Hariri, the massacre of the defenceless Yemeni people, the execution of Sheikh Nimr, the Mina tragedy, the suppression of religious and academic characters, the imprisonment of Saudi princes at the Ritz Carlton hotel and confiscation of their wealth.

Saudi officials will probably use one or two of the consulate General’s staff members as scapegoat and punish them to close the case.

Today, with its extreme actions, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has moved towards a kind of Trumpism, and in this path he has turned into a modern Arab fascist and racist. This approach is definitely a serious threat to the security of the countries of the region. The countries of the region, the advocates of human rights, the media, and all thinkers and journalists should not be ignorant of the extreme actions of Saudi rulers and take the necessary measures to deal with this danger.

The method of disseminating information and remarks made by Turkish officials about Khashoggi indicate that the country is managing the crisis of his assassination in a calculated manner and has not gone into inaction in that regard.

Since the first day when Khashoggi went missing after entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Ankara possessed the most important evidence suggesting he had been assassinated, i.e., an audio tape recorded inside the consulate, and, hence, could have revealed the evidence during the very first days following the incident, but did not do so.

Although Turkey’s sovereignty and security are now under question, the country wouldn’t like the Khashoggi issue to turn into a high-profile matter in Ankara-Riyadh ties and jeopardize billions of dollars in Saudi investment.

For the time being, Ankara intends to gradually reveal reliable information in that regard to put pressure on Riyadh into working out a joint settlement of the crisis.

So, when Turkey says Saud Arabia should cooperate in that regard, it means Riyadh should work to reach a solution, not work to prove that Khashoggi was assassinated. In fact, Ankara is sure that Khashoggi was assassinated on orders from high Saudi authorities, and does not need Saudi cooperation to shed light on the dimensions of the saga.

Saudi Arabia has announced its readiness to dispatch a security delegation to cooperate with the Turkish security apparatus on the Khashoggi case, which can show that Riyadh has received Ankara’s message. On the whole, the sending of this team can have two motives. First, getting precise information on the reliable evidence in Turkey’s possession, and second, entering into serious talks to work out a common solution to the issue.

One possible solution could be that the Saudi government announces rogue elements assassinated him without Riyadh being informed of that, and stress that it will seriously deal with perpetrators.

Here, Turkey has managed to ward off a crisis in its relations with Saudi Arabia on the one hand. Experience (for example with regards to relations with Canada and Germany) shows that Riyadh usually is not scared of making bold decisions in such circumstances. On the other hand, Turkey has been able to gain concessions from Riyadh with regards to certain issues.

The coming days and weeks will bring to light whether Ankara and Riyadh will be able to reach agreement behind the scene and somehow close the case in order to prevent a serious blow to mutual relations. In that case, Turkey will most probably stop gradually releasing evidence of Khashoggi’s assassination, and neither will it release that audio tape which is said to contain the conversation between Khashoggi and the terror team. According to American sources, Turkey has informed Washington of the content of the tape which has not been released by media, yet.