France not in possession of Khashoggi tapes, FM Le Drian says after Erdogan statement

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday said that France was not in possession of recordings related to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as far as he was aware. This contradicts remarks by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said on Saturday that France, Germany and Britain had been handed the tapes, Reuters reports. Le Drian told France 2 that this was not the case, insofar as he was aware. Asked if that meant Erdogan was lying, Le Drian said: “It means that he has a political game to play in these circumstances.” Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate last month in a hit which Erdogan says was ordered at the “highest levels” of the Saudi government. US President Donald Trump and Erdogan have discussed how to respond to the killing of Khashoggi, a White House official said on Sunday.