Saudi crown prince to visit Turkey in first since Khashoggi murder

Saudi crown prince to visit Turkey in first since Khashoggi murder

Saudi crown prince to visit Turkey in first since Khashoggi murder

Saudi crown prince to visit Turkey in first since Khashoggi murder (credits:google)

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  • Ankara and Riyadh heal bitter rift following 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
  • Crown prince expected to visit Turkish capital Ankara on June 22.
  • Two countries to sign several agreements as Turkey looks to non-Western partners for financial support.
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ISTANBUL – Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will pay a visit to Turkey next week, according to a Turkish official, as Ankara and Riyadh work to mend their strained relationship following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018.

It is Prince Mohammed’s first trip to Turkey since the assassination of Saudi insider-turned-critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s consulate, which horrified the world and severely strained relations between the regional adversaries.

The kingdom’s de facto ruler is slated to visit Ankara on June 22, but specifics will be revealed “over the weekend,” according to a senior Turkish official.

Several agreements between the two nations will be signed during his visit, as Turkey seeks to non-Western partners for financial assistance as skyrocketing inflation hits.

Since the assassination, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously conducted a visit to Saudi Arabia in late April, where he met with the prince before travelling to Mecca.

Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, was assassinated and dismembered by Saudi operatives in October 2018. His body was never discovered.

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Turkey enraged Saudi Arabia at the time by aggressively pursuing the matter, launching an investigation, and alerting international media on the gruesome facts of the murder.

Erdogan has repeatedly stated that the death was ordered by the Saudi government’s “highest echelons,” though he has never directly blamed the crown prince.

However, with connections improving, an Istanbul court postponed the trial in absentia of 26 Saudi defendants tied to Khashoggi’s death, relocating the case to Riyadh in November.

Relationship repair
Turkey’s relations with Saudi Arabia were already tense due to Turkey’s backing for Qatar during the 2017 Riyadh-led embargo on the Gulf state, but they were put on hold for more than three years after Khashoggi’s murder.

 

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Saudi Arabia retaliated with an unofficial embargo of Turkish goods at the time, placing economic pressure on Turkey.

 

Turkish exporters have complained that their goods have been held up in Saudi customs for longer than necessary.

 

Experts say Erdogan needs support from Gulf countries now, with inflation reaching 73.5 percent in May and a cost-of-living crisis a year before a presidential election.

 

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Asli Aydintasbas, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said, “Turkey’s major concern would be receiving Saudi financing to refill central bank coffers that are critically low.”

The Turkish lira lost 44% of its value versus the dollar in 2021, despite the central bank pumping billions of dollars into the currency to keep it afloat.

Turkey has also attempted to mend relations with powerful countries in the area, such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates, in the last 18 months.

 

The Saudi crown prince’s image as a pariah in the West following the murder of Jamal Khashoggi looks to be fading, with US President Joe Biden planning a trip to the Middle East next month, including a stop in Saudi Arabia, where the two men are slated to meet.

 

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During a visit to the country in December, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Prince Mohammed.

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