Turkey's president says he is awaiting a final report by prosecutors investigating the death of a Saudi journalist who died under mysterious circumstances in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's remarks on October 7 came after unnamed Turkish sources told Reuters and The New York Times that Jamal Khashoggi was killed at the Istanbul diplomatic mission.
Erdogan said that the authorities were looking into all camera records and monitoring incoming and outgoing airport transits as part of the investigation.
Earlier, an Erdogan aide, Yasin Aktay, told Reuters that Turkish authorities believed a group of 15 Saudi nationals were "most certainly involved" in the case.
Another unidentified official was quoted as saying that Khashoggi was likely killed by a Saudi team sent "specifically for the murder."
A former newspaper editor, Khashoggi left Saudi Arabia last year saying he feared retribution for his growing criticism of Saudi policy in the Yemen war and its crackdown on dissent.
He entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2, reportedly trying to obtain a document that he needed to get married. His fiancee, who accompanied him to the building but remained outside, told reporters that he never emerged.
An official at the consulate described the allegations as "baseless," adding that a security delegation of Saudi investigators was in Istanbul to probe Khashoggi's disappearance.
An unnamed official at the consulate described the allegations as "baseless," and Saudi Prince Muhammad bin Salman was quoted as saying: "We have nothing to hide."
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned Saudi Arabia's ambassador to ask for an explanation about Khashoggi's disappearance, which comes amid already strained relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Ankara has taken the side of Qatar over its blockade by Saudi Arabia and other neighbors, and Turkey's rapprochement with Iran has riled the Riyadh government.