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Read: The U.S. loved the Saudi crown prince. Not anymore.

But while Saudi Arabia and Turkey often find themselves on opposite sides of regional conflicts, they are by no means outwardly hostile toward each other, even when their policy priorities collide, as with the blockade of Qatar or in the Khashoggi case. Erdogan is respectful of Saudi King Salmans status in the Muslim world, and Riyadh is aware of Turkeys military capabilities as well as its membership in NATO.

Thus far, the two countries have mostly refrained from publicly sniping during the Khashoggi investigation.

Erdogans remarks on Tuesday signaled something of a shift, amounting to a forceful, if implicit, criticism of the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. The Turkish president said the Khashoggi case had prompted several questions, including who had ordered 15 Saudis to come to Istanbul, why the Saudis issued so many inconsistent statements about the case, and why Khashoggis body was still missing. No one should think that this matter will be closed before all of these questions are answered, he said.

Read: How to respond to a diplomatic crisis

Still, he was careful to make conciliatory references to the king, acknowledging that the Saudi administration has taken a significant step by admitting to the murder, and adding, I do not doubt the sincerity of the Custodian of the Two Mosques.

Erdogan doesnt want to rupture [relations] with the Saudi king, Soner Cagaptay, who studies Turkey at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said. The Turkish leader has decided to separate the king from his son, targeting only the crown prince regarding the Khashoggi murder, he added.

Turkey realizes the young crown prince could be on the Saudi throne for decades to come. Prolonging the crisis could poison relations with the kingdom. (This is likely to be the message Gina Haspel, the CIA director, delivers when she visits Ankara on Tuesday.)

Erdogans speech was nevertheless a real effort to tarnish and weaken Mohammed bin Salman, said Steven Cook, an expert on Turkey and Saudi Arabia at the Council on Foreign Relations. Erdogan and the crown prince, Cook added, believe themselves to be two of the most important [leaders] in the Muslim world.

Erdogan wants to bring him down a notch or two, Cook said.

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Erdogan: Khashoggi Was Killed in a Planned Operation ...