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Erdogan’s upcoming go to to Saudi Arabia – Center East Monitor

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced his intention to go to Saudi Arabia in February, on the invitation of King Salman Bin Abdulaziz. The announcement got here in Erdogan’s reply to a Turkish businesswoman’s query concerning the undeclared Saudi ban on Turkish items and her demand that this drawback be solved.

The president will even go to the UAE capital subsequent month, as he introduced after the go to of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Ankara in December. It’s anticipated that Erdogan’s go to to Saudi Arabia will come instantly after his go to to the UAE and earlier than his return to Turkey.

The speedy restoration of relations between the UAE and Turkey following the go to of the Emirati Nationwide Safety Adviser, Tahnoun Bin Zayed, to the Turkish capital final August, led to expectations and anticipation for progress within the stalled talks between Ankara, Cairo and Riyadh, with a view to speed up steps in direction of attaining comparable reconciliation between Turkey and Egypt on the one hand, and between Turkey and Saudi Arabia on the opposite. Nonetheless, the Turkish president’s announcement of this go to was shocking to many observers, given the absence of constructive indicators on the Saudi aspect relating to imminent enhancements in Turkish-Saudi relations.

Rapprochement with the UAE: Is Turkey changing its foreign policy?

Britain’s Middle East Eye web site quoted a senior Turkish official conversant in the talks between Turkey and Saudi Arabia as saying that “Riyadh has turn into extra critical about repairing ties with Ankara after Erdogan met Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed in November.” This means a change in Saudi Arabia’s rigid place on Turkey’s want to enhance relations between the 2 international locations as a result of Ankara had, for a while, proven a want to revive its relations with Saudi Arabia, and took tangible steps to point out its goodwill. Nonetheless, this initiative was not welcomed by the Saudi aspect till lately, which was confirmed by the Turkish official, who additionally mentioned, “We approached them up to now, however they weren’t critical.”

“This time they approached us. The Saudis felt like they’ve been getting excluded on this regional reconciliation. They want to be part of it.”

MBS and reality about Khashoggi – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]

There are lots of elements that softened the Saudi place on reconciliation with Turkey, and the current Turkish-Emirati rapprochement is actually one of the essential of those elements. It’s because Turkey’s relations with three GCC international locations had been superb. After the UAE and Bahrain joined Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, Saudi Arabia remained alone within the area in its hostility in direction of Turkey.

Final yr, there have been reconciliation talks between Riyadh and Tehran, mediated by Baghdad, however they reached a lifeless finish. That is evidenced by current statements by Saudi officers, together with King Salman Bin Abdulaziz who instructed the Shura Council: “We comply with with concern the Iranian authorities’s coverage which is destabilising regional safety and stability, together with constructing and backing sectarian armed militias and propagating its navy energy in different international locations.” Tehran’s assault on Saudi Arabia by its proxy in Lebanon and accusing it of “terrorism”, signifies the failure of the Saudi-Iranian talks.

The problem of the ban imposed by Saudi Arabia on Turkish merchandise underneath the pretext of a “standard boycott” will undoubtedly be on the desk through the Turkish president’s upcoming go to to Riyadh. It’s anticipated that the slogan of zero coping with Turkey will disappear after the go to, as a result of this coverage, underneath the circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic, harms Saudi businessmen and retailers and the Saudi individuals, earlier than it harms the Turkish financial system.

READ: Exports are Turkey’s means to tackle the sharp currency decline

The case of the assassination of Saudi author Jamal Khashoggi – might God have mercy on his soul – in his country’s consulate in Istanbul was one of the essential causes for the deterioration of Turkish-Saudi relations. Turkey announced, by the Turkish presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, that it respects the Saudi court docket’s ruling within the case, after it sought with all its proof to disclose the circumstances of the crime and obtain justice. Ankara considers it unreasonable to maintain Turkish-Saudi relations and the pursuits of the 2 international locations hostage to this problem.

The return of Turkish-Saudi relations to their regular course will likely be within the curiosity of each international locations, and the Turkish-Saudi reconciliation will replicate on regional recordsdata. Definitely, the approaching days will present the extent to which Erdogan’s go to to Saudi Arabia, if it truly takes place as introduced, will break the ice, flip the web page on pressure, and open a brand new web page within the bilateral relations between Ankara and Riyadh.

This text first appeared in Arabic in Arabi21 on 5 January 2022

The views expressed on this article belong to the writer and don’t essentially replicate the editorial coverage of Center East Monitor.

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