Turkish President heads to Saudi Arabia today on an official visit
Erdogan was due to meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and also, possibly, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
April 28, 2022, 7:38 am

Turkish President heads to Saudi Arabia today on an official visit

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan/Official Facebook page

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday (Apr 28), in a sign of thaw in relations between the two countries.

This comes as a culmination of Ankara's months-long efforts to repair relations with Riyadh.

The Turkish presidency said that Erdogan will discuss in meetings Ankara's relations with the Kingdom, as well as ways to increase cooperation.

The two-day trip comes after an Istanbul court this month ruled to halt the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi suspects linked to the Istanbul killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in 2018, and the transfer of the case to Saudi Arabia.

The Istanbul trial was suspended during a new spell of economic turmoil in Turkey, which has suffered from soaring inflation and a spell of winter street protests that hurt Erdogan’s popularity ahead of a general election next year.

Erdogan was due to meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and also, possibly, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (Photo: AP)

Turkey is now drumming up financial support from energy-rich Gulf countries with which it has been at odds in the decade following the “Arab Spring” revolts and Ankara’s support of Islamist groups amidst the upheaval.

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Erdogan has already tried to improve ties with Egypt and also the United Arab Emirates, which has agreed a new investment package for Turkey.

A Turkish official source told AFP, Erdogan was due to meet Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and also, possibly, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.