Analyst: Erdogan aimed to present Turkey as a 'rule-of-law' state

Michael Sercan Daventry, writer and curator of the James in Turkey website, told Middle East Eye that Erdogan's Khashoggi speech was aimed at presenting Turkey as a country that upholds the rule of law.

“It was a carefully calibrated speech. Erdogan doesn’t want to ostracise the Saudis and he’s also keen to demonstrate Turkey’s rule-of-law credentials, he’s trying to show that there’s a due process and it needs to be followed," he said.

It wasn’t the moment of clairvoyance that it was plugged as being. There were lots of questions unanswered

- Michael Sercan Daventry, analyst

“But it wasn’t the moment of clairvoyance that it was plugged as being. There were lots of questions unanswered. He’s asked quite a few important questions himself, the most prominent one being ‘Where is his body?’

“But it wasn’t a seminar in ‘This is everything that Turkey knows, now it’s for Saudi to answer’. He raised many more questions than he answered.”

He added that Erdogan was keen not to be overly critical of the Saudi leadership, referring to them in respectful, statesman-like terms.

“He doesn’t want to cut ties with Saudi fully. That was absolutely clear - it was particularly clear from the way he referred to King Salman. He didn't just say 'King Salman'. He called him by his full, ample title. It was a deliberate point of respect.

"He wasn't as complimentary about MBS, but he wasn't particularly rude about him. It broadly fits in to this narrative of him as the alternative leader for the Sunni world and he's been trying to do this for years and this was just another step in that direction."