Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came up with a damp squib on October 23 when he addressed the parliament in Ankara on what he had said would be the “naked truth” on how journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate.

Certainly if he has any incontrovertible evidence on how the so-called “Tiger Squad” (Firqat el-Nemr) of elite Saudi operatives who answer to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman brutally murdered the self-exiled Riyadh critic, he chose to keep it under wraps. There was certainly no sign of the much-discussed audio tape Turkish officials claim to possess of the moment of the allegedly pre-meditated grisly killing back on October 2.

Given the bloodcurdling leaks presented by international and Turkish media on the basis of briefings by Turkish officials in the past three weeks, Erdogan’s speech to lawmakers, shown on television around the world, was rather bland. “Intelligence and security institutions have evidence showing the murder was planned… Pinning such a case on a handful of security and intelligence members will not satisfy us or the international community,” Erdogan said during his speech in which he made no reference to the crown prince. “From the person who gave the order, to the person who carried it out, they must all be brought to account,” he added.

What is Erdogan up to?
So what is Erdogan up to in this battle between two Middle East power brokers who rarely see eye to eye, whether it be on Syria, Qatar, Iran, the role of political Islam or support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Is his aim to persuade Saudi King Salman to dislodge Bin Salman or rein in his powers? Does he want a cash injection from Riyadh and helpful moves from major Saudi ally Washington to help restore Turkey’s battered economy, or perhaps a withdrawal of Saudi support for Kurdish militias in Syria regarded by Ankara as terrorists? Perhaps an easing of pressure on the isolation of Turkey’s ally Qatar is the aim, in return for some financial gratitude from Doha. As ever with Erdogan, something is afoot.

Although Erdogan has claimed Khashoggi was a friend, this game of chess is rather unlikely to be centred on obtaining justice for the ill-fated journalist. Erdogan is certainly not sentimental about the freedom of the press—in fact Turkey is the biggest jailer of journalists in the world. As things stand, until Erdogan either gets what he is after, or reveals his full hand, the guessing game will go on.