Bloc expects full investigations from Saudi authorities in case of missing journalist, EU foreign policy chief says
The European Union Foreign Affairs Council will discuss the case of missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the monthly meeting, the EU foreign policy chief said on Monday.
Federica Mogherini would raise the issue at the council meeting, she told reporters in Luxembourg ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting.
"I will mention, obviously, the latest events on which I already had the opportunity to comment one week ago, from Lisbon," Mogherini said.
"The European Union expects full investigations from the authorities of Saudi Arabia, full cooperation with the Turkish authorities in line with what also our main partners and allies have expressed, mainly in Washington but also elsewhere," she added.
"We expect and we hope that there will be transparency and full clarity on what happened."
The 28-member bloc's foreign ministers arrived in Luxembourg for the monthly Foreign Affairs Council meeting. The EU Ministers are expected to address foreign policy, security, trade matters along with latest developments in the region.
Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for The Washington Post, has gone missing since he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
On that same day 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the building while Khashoggi was also inside, Turkish police sources said.
All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.
Saudi authorities have yet to give a clear explanation of Khashoggi’s fate, while several countries -- particularly Turkey, the U.S., and the U.K -- are pressing for the case to be cleared up as soon as possible.
