Ankara: Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler will take another step toward breaking its international isolation on Wednesday by paying him his first visit to Turkey since the journalist’s 2018 murder. Jamal Khashoggi In the state’s Istanbul Consulate.
Crown talks in Ankara Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the President of Turkey Risp Tayip Erdogan Arrive a month before US President’s visit to Riyadh Joe BidenFor a regional summit focused on the energy crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Erdogan’s decision to revive ties with one of his biggest rivals is also largely driven by economics and business.
A year before the general election, the living standards of the Turks are falling, one of the biggest challenges of Erdogan’s two-decade rule.
After Khashoggi’s death, Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted government released a drip-by-drip description of the gruesome killing, which greatly embarrassed the Saudi crown prince.
But now it is seeking investment and central bank assistance from the same countries it opposed on ideological grounds in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.
“I think this is one of the most important visits to Ankara by a foreign leader in almost a decade,” said Sonar Cagapte, a Turkish expert at the Washington Institute.
“Erdogan is all about Erdogan. He is about winning the election and I think he has decided to swallow his pride.”
Kagpte said Prince Mohammed is also trying to see if he can garner wider support ahead of a possible new nuclear deal between world powers and Saudi arch-nemesis Iran.
“I think the Saudis are hedging their bets,” Cagapte said.
– ‘You should be ashamed’ – Turkey’s ties with the Saudis began with an Istanbul court’s decision in April to end the trial and move the case to Riyadh in the absence of 26 suspects accused of Khashoggi’s murder.
US intelligence officials have determined that Prince Mohammed sanctioned a plot against Khashoggi – something Riyadh denies.
The court’s decision was strongly opposed by Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz.
But it paved the way for a trip to Saudi Arabia erdogan Three weeks later, when he hugged the Crown Prince.
“He gets off the plane and hugs the killers,” enraged Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu – Erdogan’s likely main rival in the presidential race.
“You should be ashamed.”
Ankara hopes the reform of the fence between the two Sunni powers will help prop up Turkey’s economy at a crucial stage in Erdogan’s regime.
A Turkish official said the sides would discuss a range of issues, including cooperation between banks and support for small and medium-sized businesses.
– Lack of confidence – Erdogan’s unconventional economic approach has set off an inflationary spiral that has nearly doubled consumer prices in the past year.
Analysts agree that the resulting drop in public acceptance of Erdogan and the depletion of state reserves means Turkish leaders are unable to maintain their hostile stance towards petrodollar-laden Gulf states.
Turkey’s problems with the Saudis began when Ankara refused to accept Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Cairo in 2013.
The Saudis and other Arab kingdoms saw the Brotherhood as an existential threat.
The rivalry intensified in 2017 after the Saudis and their allies tried to break a nearly four-year blockade imposed on Qatar.
Analysts agree that Washington is viewing this gradual return of regional peace with an approval.
“Encouraged by the United States, this relationship is easing tensions and building diplomacy across the region,” said Gonul Tol, Turkey’s director of studies at the US-based Middle East Institute.
But Tall questioned whether Prince Mohammed was ready to put complete trust in Erdogan.
He said that Yuvraj will not easily forget the attitude adopted by Turkey after the Khashoggi case.
“In the short term, I don’t think there will be any dramatic improvement in Turkey’s economy.”
Crown talks in Ankara Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the President of Turkey Risp Tayip Erdogan Arrive a month before US President’s visit to Riyadh Joe BidenFor a regional summit focused on the energy crunch caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Erdogan’s decision to revive ties with one of his biggest rivals is also largely driven by economics and business.
A year before the general election, the living standards of the Turks are falling, one of the biggest challenges of Erdogan’s two-decade rule.
After Khashoggi’s death, Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted government released a drip-by-drip description of the gruesome killing, which greatly embarrassed the Saudi crown prince.
But now it is seeking investment and central bank assistance from the same countries it opposed on ideological grounds in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings.
“I think this is one of the most important visits to Ankara by a foreign leader in almost a decade,” said Sonar Cagapte, a Turkish expert at the Washington Institute.
“Erdogan is all about Erdogan. He is about winning the election and I think he has decided to swallow his pride.”
Kagpte said Prince Mohammed is also trying to see if he can garner wider support ahead of a possible new nuclear deal between world powers and Saudi arch-nemesis Iran.
“I think the Saudis are hedging their bets,” Cagapte said.
– ‘You should be ashamed’ – Turkey’s ties with the Saudis began with an Istanbul court’s decision in April to end the trial and move the case to Riyadh in the absence of 26 suspects accused of Khashoggi’s murder.
US intelligence officials have determined that Prince Mohammed sanctioned a plot against Khashoggi – something Riyadh denies.
The court’s decision was strongly opposed by Khashoggi’s Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz.
But it paved the way for a trip to Saudi Arabia erdogan Three weeks later, when he hugged the Crown Prince.
“He gets off the plane and hugs the killers,” enraged Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu – Erdogan’s likely main rival in the presidential race.
“You should be ashamed.”
Ankara hopes the reform of the fence between the two Sunni powers will help prop up Turkey’s economy at a crucial stage in Erdogan’s regime.
A Turkish official said the sides would discuss a range of issues, including cooperation between banks and support for small and medium-sized businesses.
– Lack of confidence – Erdogan’s unconventional economic approach has set off an inflationary spiral that has nearly doubled consumer prices in the past year.
Analysts agree that the resulting drop in public acceptance of Erdogan and the depletion of state reserves means Turkish leaders are unable to maintain their hostile stance towards petrodollar-laden Gulf states.
Turkey’s problems with the Saudis began when Ankara refused to accept Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood from power in Cairo in 2013.
The Saudis and other Arab kingdoms saw the Brotherhood as an existential threat.
The rivalry intensified in 2017 after the Saudis and their allies tried to break a nearly four-year blockade imposed on Qatar.
Analysts agree that Washington is viewing this gradual return of regional peace with an approval.
“Encouraged by the United States, this relationship is easing tensions and building diplomacy across the region,” said Gonul Tol, Turkey’s director of studies at the US-based Middle East Institute.
But Tall questioned whether Prince Mohammed was ready to put complete trust in Erdogan.
He said that Yuvraj will not easily forget the attitude adopted by Turkey after the Khashoggi case.
“In the short term, I don’t think there will be any dramatic improvement in Turkey’s economy.”