As details of the barbaric murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi continue to draw global outcry, reports surfaced claiming that Riyadh is planning to move its Ankara embassy to a different location following previous accounts that said the Kingdom is mulling a possible move of its Istanbul consulate, where the killing had taken place.
Following the murder, Saudi officials sent a chemist and a toxicologist to Istanbul with the task of cleaning the scene of the consulate before Turkish detectives could investigate, wiping the floors and some of the walls with a certain “chemical” to hide traces of the vicious murder.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry last week said that it did not receive any official request by Saudi Arabia to move its consulate in Istanbul.
"It is understood that there is such an intention. However, no official request reached our ministry," the Foreign Ministry said in a written response to the question whether Saudi Arabia will move its consulate.
The ministry's statement followed media reports which claimed that Saudi Arabia wanted to move its Istanbul consulate following the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, was killed on Oct. 2 inside the consulate.
After weeks of denying involvement, the kingdom admitted Khashoggi had been killed inside the consulate but claimed the Saudi royal family had no prior knowledge of any plot to murder the journalist.
So far, 18 people -- including security officers -- have been arrested in Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder.
