Erdogan’s visit to ease strained Turkish-Saudi ties creates win-win opportunity … writes Burak Akinci
Last week’s visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Saudi Arabia, during which the two regional heavyweights vowed to reset their frayed ties, will create a win-win opportunity for both nations, experts said.
This was Erdogan’s first visit to the Gulf Arab kingdom since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 that marred the relations between the two Sunni states.
The Turkish leader was seen embracing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed with him regional issues and business opportunities.
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After the meetings, Erdogan said Turkey hopes to enhance all kinds of political, military and economic relations to start a “new era” with Saudi Arabia.
Turkey’s current diplomatic drive comes amid the country’s economic woes which have been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, seeking to attract investments, especially those from energy-rich Gulf states.
The United Arab Emirates, with which Turkey has also taken steps to improve relations, has outlined a plan for a 10 billion U.S. dollar fund to support investments in Turkey.
“There is a general easing of tensions in the Gulf region and the Turkish-Saudi reconciliation should be seen as a part of this drive, and also as a piece of the puzzle in which Ankara is striving to reconcile itself with former regional adversaries,” Serkan Demirtas, a Turkish foreign policy analyst, told Xinhua.
Demirats pointed to Ankara’s economic motivation for pushing for a detente with Riyadh which also needs a chance to rebuild its international image after the murder of Khashoggi.
“So, putting relations back on track is beneficial for both nations and may have positive consequences for conflicts in the Middle East where they are rivals, notably in Syria,” he said.
Ahead of Erdogan’s visit, Turkey already made overtures to Saudi Arabia by first toning down its criticism over the Khashoggi case and then in April transferring the trial against 26 Saudi suspects in connection to the case from Turkey to the Gulf kingdom.
“The (Turkish) president’s visit to Saudi Arabia is a consecration of improving ties as the two countries are in sync toward a general detente in the region,” a Turkish diplomatic source told Xinhua.
“Both nations are aware of economic and political security interests involved behind their efforts for normalization,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
For Saudi Arabia, Necmettin Acar, a scholar and expert on Gulf states from Mardin Artuklu University, said security concerns dominate its efforts toward rapprochement with Turkey.
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“Currently … terrorism, conflict, instability and refugee issues are a security threat … Saudis cannot handle all those issues by themselves,” he told semi-official Anadolu Agency.
“Saudi Arabia is seeking the active support of Turkey to cope with instabilities affecting the Arab world, especially the war in Yemen where Riyadh is engaged (against Iran-backed Houthi rebels), and to act as a balancing force regarding Iran,” he said.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in protest against the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran following the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.
The tensions between the two rivals have shown signs of improvement since they resumed direct talks on normalizing diplomatic relations in April 2021.
