During his first visit to Saudi Arabia since the assassination of Saudi government critic Jamal Khashoggi (Jamal Chaschukji) in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a clear signal of his willingness to get closer to his former rival.
In tweets written in Turkish and Arabic today, Erdogan called Saudi Arabia “brother” and “friend”.
Erdogan wants to intensify relations
The aim is to intensify political, military and economic relations between the two countries and start a new era, according to the Turkish president. Observers mainly see economic interests behind the rapprochement promoted by Erdogan.
On the Saudi side, the meetings were described much more soberly: they discussed Saudi-Turkish relations and the possibilities of developing them further in various areas. The Turkish president expressed his pleasure in visiting the kingdom. Concrete agreements were not announced.
Erdogan met the de facto ruler of the country, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman, among others. The Turkish president also traveled to the holy place of Mecca. The trip was the first since Khashoggi’s assassination, which severely soured already strained relations.