Turkish FM: No obstacle for Erdogan to meet bin Salman

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can meet with the Saudi crown prince if the latter requests so, Turkish foreign minister said on Friday.

Following the slaying of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month, Mohammed bin Salman -- who is attending the G20 summit in Argentina -- has expressed his will to meet Erdogan and has previously told Erdogan himself of his request over the phone, Cavusoglu told news channel CNN Turk.

"Of course, there's no reason not to meet bin Salman. Of course, it is up to our president," he said.

Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist working for The Washington Post, was killed shortly after he entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul.

After weeks of shifting explanations, Saudi Arabia suggested the journalist was killed during a botched rendition operation by rogue agents.

Asked about Trump's controversial statement on Khashoggi's murder, saying "maybe the world should be held accountable", Cavusoglu said it meant "turning a blind eye whatever happens".

"This is not the right approach. Money is not everything... We shouldn't abandon our humanitarian values," he said.

EU court's non-binding decision

Cavusoglu also said that Turkey objects to a recent non-binding decision of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) which demands the release of former co-chairman of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas .

In November 2016, Demirtas along with 12 HDP lawmakers, were arrested on terror-related charges. Demirtas remains in custody pending trial.

Around a dozen HDP lawmakers are currently in prison pending trial for terrorism-related offenses after their parliamentary immunity was lifted in May 2016.

Turkey's government has said the HDP had links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU.

Manbij roadmap

Meanwhile, there is a delay on the Turkey-U.S. roadmap for Manbij, Cavusoglu said adding: "This should be completed by the end of the year."

Cavusoglu said the U.S. is helping the YPG terrorist group in northern Syria and said whoever supports them is a threat to Turkey.

Turkish and U.S. troops began joint patrols in Manbij, northeast of the Aleppo Governorate in Syria, on Nov. 1 as part of an agreement that focuses on the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the city to stabilize the region.

The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, a terrorist group recognized by Turkey, the U.S., and EU, which in its 30-year terror campaign has taken some 40,000 lives.

The U.S. has claimed the YPG/PKK is an “ally” in the fight against Daesh, over Turkey’s objections that one cannot use a terrorist group to fight another.

Turkey has repeatedly cited evidence that the YPG is no different from the PKK.

Reporting by Tugrul Cam:Writing by Faruk Zorlu