US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has met Turkey's President and foreign minister over the disappearance and alleged slaying of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi.
No details were immediately released about the talks on Wednesday between Pompeo and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The three posed for photos before their meetings, but said nothing in front of journalists. Pompeo held separate meetings with Erdogan and Cavusoglu, each lasting around 40 minutes.
Pompeo had just arrived from Riyadh, where he spoke with Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday.
Khashoggi went missing on October 2 after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials say they fear Saudi agents have killed and dismembered him. Saudi Arabia has denied the allegations, but provided no evidence he left the consulate.
Turkey says it is awaiting final permission from Saudi Arabia to search the home of the Saudi consul in Istanbul as part of an investigation into the disappearance of Khashoggi.
Interior minister Suleyman Soylu told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has 'accepted' a request for a search of the official residence but had not yet given its final consent.
Soylu said: 'As soon as (Saudi Arabia) gives the consent, steps will be taken toward investigating.'
Turkish forensic teams earlier this week searched the consulate building where Khashoggi was last seen entering two weeks ago. A senior official told The Associated Press that investigators had found more evidence indicating that the journalist was killed there.
A strongly pro-government Turkish newspaper has published a gruesome recounting of the alleged slaying of the Saudi writer at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Yeni Safak on Wednesday cited what it described as an audio recording of Khashoggi's slaying, which it said showed the Washington Post columnist was tortured.
The newspaper said Saudi consul general Mohammed al-Otaibi could be heard on the tape, telling those allegedly torturing Khashoggi: 'Do this outside; you're going to get me in trouble.'
The newspaper said one of the Saudis torturing Khashoggi replied: 'Shut up if you want to live when you return to (Saudi) Arabia.'
Saudi officials have not responded to repeated requests for comment from The Associated Press in recent days. The kingdom has previously denied allegations that Khashoggi was killed.
Security services in Turkey have used pro-government media to leak details of Khashoggi's case, adding to the pressure on the kingdom.
