Signs of warming ties emerge amid Turkish diplomatic drive that coincides with major economic crisis.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia in the coming weeks, facing probably his most difficult task in Turkey’s recent bridge-building with regional rivals.
Over the past year, Ankara has embarked on a diplomatic push to reset relations with countries such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia after years of antagonism following the 2011 Arab Spring.
Turkey’s support for popular movements linked to the Muslim Brotherhood initially spurred the break with Arab governments that saw their vision of political Islam as a threat.
Later developments, particularly the blockade of Turkish ally Qatar by its Gulf neighbours in 2017, reinforced the split. The lifting of the embargo by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain early last year paved the way for Ankara’s reconciliation with its erstwhile adversaries.
Ties with Riyadh, however, have been marred by an additional factor – the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October 2018.
The killing sparked global outrage and put pressure on de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS, who was accused of having approved the operation to kill or capture Khashoggi in a US intelligence report released a year ago. The Saudi government has always denied any involvement by the prince.
The movements of the hit team were closely documented by Turkey’s pro-government media and Erdogan – while not naming the prince – said the order to carry out the assassination came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government.
A Saudi court jailed eight people over the killing in September 2020 – a trial described as a sham by rights groups – but Turkey also launched a case against 26 Saudi suspects.
Last week that trial was halted and transferred to Saudi Arabia, removing what observers say was the main obstacle to rapprochement.
“This has been the hardest nut to crack,” said Monica Marks, assistant professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi, referring to Turkey’s overtures to Riyadh.
“Certainly over the past six months it’s become really clear that in its regional charm offensive, Turkey’s going to have the most trouble making a definitive breakthrough with Saudi Arabia.
“That has a lot to do with the depth of personal ire and offence that was raised over the tragedy of Jamal Khashoggi.”
Erdogan received a fanfare welcome when he visited the UAE in February. He had earlier announced he would also visit Saudi Arabia that month – a trip that never materialised. Erdogan told reporters on the return flight from the UAE that “positive dialogue” with Saudi Arabia was continuing.
Turkish media has recently reported Erdogan will visit the kingdom during Ramadan in what would be the clearest sign of a breakthrough.
There have been other indications of warming ties. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Saudi Arabia in May 2021 and, following a meeting with his Saudi counterpart last month, said “concrete steps” on improving relations would be taken “in the coming period”.
The end of an unofficial Saudi boycott of Turkish goods, which cut Ankara’s exports by 90 percent, saw trade to Saudi Arabia reach $58m last month, triple the level for the previous year but a fraction of the $298m registered in March 2020.
aljazeera.com