While the fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is demanding that the kingdom’s crown prince be punished after a US intelligence report unveiled on Feb. 27 found that Mohammed Bin Salman had approved the operation to murder him in 2018, Turkey — a strong critic of the royal — has remained silent.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Hatice Cengiz noted that it was “essential” that the crown prince and de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia be “punished without delay” for the murder and dismemberment of the Saudi dissident by the crown prince’s associates at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. 

The Turkish government has yet to comment on the report's findings, which chime with many of Turkey’s allegations against the prince. Nor has it said anything about the administration’s visa ban and sanctions slapped on Saudi officials linked to Khashoggi’s killing.

Analysts say Turkey's silence speaks to its own contradictions. Ankara must be disappointed that Washington spared Mohammed Bin Salman — known widely by his initials MBS — by leaving him off the sanctions list. Yet, at the same time, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must be relieved that a fellow autocrat eluded punishment from Washington.