US President Donald Trump has said he plans to speak with Saudi Arabian officials about the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who went missing a week ago.
Mr Trump, speaking at the White House, said he did not know details about Mr Khashoggi's disappearance.
Asked if he had spoken to officials in Saudi Arabia about Mr Khashoggi, Mr Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: "I have not. But I will be at some point.
"I know nothing right now. I know what everybody else knows- nothing," Mr Trump said.
Mr Khashoggi, a Saudi citizen who had lived in Washington for the past year, has not been heard from or seen since he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last Tuesday, his fiance and friends have said.
Turkish officials told Reuters over the weekend they believed he had been killed inside the consulate.
Saudi officials have denied that he was killed and earlier invited Turkish experts and related officials to visit the consulate, according to Turkey's state-owned news agency Anadolu.
Turkish officials have said they would search the consulate.
The Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations allowed for consulates to be searched by authorities of a host country with consent of the mission chief.
"The consulate building will be searched in the framework of the investigation," a spokesman for Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a written statement.
The situation could undermine US ties with its key Gulf ally amid ongoing tension in the region.
Mr Trump, who has long criticised the US media, on yesterday said he was concerned about reports regarding the journalist and did not "like hearing about it," but that he hoped the situation "will sort itself out."
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said senior US officials were in communication with the Saudi government and has called on for a transparent investigation.
Members of Congress, both Republican and Democrats, have also called for answers regarding Mr Khashoggi's disappearance.
The reporter had gained a wide following with his appearances on Arab satellite television networks as a prominent critic of the Gulf kingdom's rulers.
He left Saudi Arabia a year ago after he said the authorities had instructed him to stop posting on Twitter. His columns had appeared in the Washington Post.
Britain has also urged the Saudi government to explain what happened.
"Just met the Saudi ambassador to seek urgent answers over Jamal Khashoggi," foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Twitter.
"Violence against journalists worldwide is going up and is a grave threat to freedom of expression. If media reports prove correct, we will treat the incident seriously – friendships depend on shared values," he wrote.
