A joint Turkish-Saudi team of investigators has entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul.

They’re searching for clues nearly two weeks after a Saudi journalist disappeared.

It comes as U.S. news organization CNN reports, Saudi Arabia is preparing a report that would admit Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed as the result of an interrogation that went wrong.

CGTN’s Guy Henderson explains. 

It’s taken Turkish investigators two-weeks to gain access to this building. Now they’re here they are pushing back journalists and appear to be setting up a crime scene.

They’d already apportioned blame. But with Riyadh’s continued and forceful denials – clearly – they wanted to leave no stone unturned.

Washington wouldn’t take anyone’s word for it: so U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo headed to Riyadh and Turkey may be his next stop.

Outside the White House, President Donald Trump said he’d spoken to the Saudi King – who’d again insisted neither he nor his son the Crown Prince had anything to do with Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance. But the president didn’t rule out Saudi involvement.

Just spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia who denies any knowledge of whatever may have happened “to our Saudi Arabian citizen.” He said that they are working closely with Turkey to find answer. I am immediately sending our Secretary of State to meet with King!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2018

Which made what happened next all the more surprising. There are now unconfirmed reports late on Monday night that Riyadh was about to admit Khashoggi was killed in an attempted abduction gone wrong.

If that is confirmed, it would be the most dramatic of twists.

Peter Bechtold discusses US-Saudi relations

CGTN’s Mike Walter speaks with Peter Bechtold, former director of Near East and North Africa Studies at the Foreign Service Institute at the US State Department about current U.S.-Saudi relations