World

Saudi Leader Visits Turkey for First Time Since Khashoggi Murder


The crown prince of Saudi Arabia visited Turkey on Wednesday for the first time since Saudi agents murdered prominent journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018. , causing a deep rift between the two powers in the region.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, was scheduled to meet the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey at the presidential palace in Ankara in another step to mend the fence between the two Middle Eastern heavyweights, whose rivals have played out in conflicts from Libya and Egypt to the Third Gulf. Private.

Erdogan moved to recalibrate relations with a visit to Saudi Arabia in April, when he publicly hugged Crown Prince Mohammed and proclaimed what he called a “new era of cooperation” between the two countries.

Paralyzed by soaring inflation in the country, Mr. Erdogan has called on regional leaders to support the Turkish economy ahead of next year’s presidential elections.

In confirming his visit last week, Erdogan said he hoped his face-to-face meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed would provide an opportunity to take relations to a higher level.

The cooperation follows similar moves by other countries to rebuild ties with Saudi Arabia, which have sparked global outrage over the gruesome murder of Mr. Washington Post columnist and outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia.

One 2018 Central Intelligence Agency Review concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed approved and ordered the attack team to kill and dismember Mr. Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018. The columnist went there. to get some paperwork he needed to marry his fiancée.

But Crown Prince Mohammed, 36, has denied monitoring the operation or knowing anything about it in advance.

The killing quickly fractured relations between the two countries already strained by the blockade of Qatar led by Saudi Arabia, an ally of Turkey.

The Turkish government angered Saudi Arabia when it immediately launched a vigorous investigation into the murder of Mr. Khashoggi and informed the international media about the brief details of the murder. case, trick them out slowly over time to increase the level of international outrage. Mr. Erdogan said the order to remove Mr. Khashoggi came from the “highest levels” of the Saudi government, but only stopped at directly accusing the crown prince.

However, as Turkey was facing pressing economic difficulties at home, Mr. Erdogan decided to strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia in April when he endorsed it. Transfer the trial of Khashoggi’s murder to Saudi Arabia and travel to the kingdom of the Persian Gulf for the first time since the murder.

The meeting in Turkey was Crown Prince Mohammed’s latest stop on a regional tour in which he met with leaders across the Middle East, including Jordan and Egypt, seeking to end the era of colonialism. international isolation from her own country.

During an earlier stop in Egypt, seen as an opportunity for the prince and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss regional cooperation, the prince signed 14 investment agreements with the country worth 7, $7 billion in industries including technology, energy, food, pharmaceuticals and media. .

Wednesday’s visit to Turkey comes just before Crown Prince Mohammed is expected to meet in the Saudi capital Riyadh, with President Biden, who as a candidate vowed to… turn the kingdom into a “pariah” about the murder of Mr. Khashoggi.

But Mr. Biden, who announced a ban on Russian oil and natural gas In response to Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine, Moscow has worked to rebuild relations with Saudi Arabia, seeking to increase the kingdom’s oil production to stabilize soaring gas prices.

Erdogan’s thaw with Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism from political opponents and human rights activists at home, who have denounced the reconstruction as a capitulation. morally. Last week, the Turkish government announced that it had dropped all charges against the suspects in the Khashoggi case, according to a court ruling reviewed by The Times.

Hatice Cengiz, Mr. Khashoggi’s fiancée at the time of his death, said on Twitter that the “political legitimacy” Crown Prince Mohammed gained through his recent meetings with world leaders will does not “change the fact that he is a murderer”.

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition, the Republican People’s Party, denied the visit in a televised statement to members of Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday.

“You are ruining the reputation of Turkey,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the opposition leader, said as he addressed the crown prince. “The leader of the Republic of Turkey will embrace the man who ordered the killing.”

Erdogan’s driving force is primarily economic. Turkey depends on Russia for most of its natural gas. The president has warned that the economy, already hit by the worst inflation in two decades – exceeding 70% – will be hit even more severely if he cuts off energy imports from Moscow because invasion of Ukraine, as well as other American countries. allies have done.

Saudi Arabia and Russia are both the world’s top oil producers, so Turkey cannot afford to go head-to-head with both.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia have long competed for dominance of the Sunni Muslim states of the Middle East.

Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party was born out of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement with a large following. The Saudis consider the Brotherhood to be a terrorist organization.

The Arab Spring uprisings that spread across the Middle East a decade ago helped establish the Brotherhood as an organized political force in countries like Egypt.

The Saudi government has sought to overthrow the uprisings, which are seen as a direct threat to its dominance in the region. Turkey aligns with Qatar to support populist movements and Muslim groups.



Source link

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button