Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Turkey for the first time in years on Wednesday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at fully normalising ties that were ruptured after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.<\/p>\n
In April, Erdogan went to Saudi Arabia after a months-long drive to mend relations between the regional powers, including dropping the trial over Khashoggi’s 2018 murder in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
He held one-on-one talks with Prince Mohammed while there, raising the possibility of Saudi investments that could help relieve Turkey’s beleaguered economy.<\/p>\n
Erdogan said last week he and Prince Mohammed, Riyadh’s de facto leader, would discuss \u201cto what much higher level\u201d they can take ties during talks in Ankara.<\/p>\n
The visit is expected to bring \u201ca full normalisation and a restoration of the pre-crisis period,\u201d a senior Turkish official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. \u201cA new era will begin.\u201d<\/p>\n
The official said negotiations on a possible currency swap line \u2014 which could help restore Turkey’s diminished foreign reserves \u2014 were not moving \u201cas fast as desired\u201d and will be discussed privately between Erdogan and Prince Mohammed.<\/p>\n
Agreements on energy, economy and security would be signed during Prince Mohammed’s visit, while a plan was also in the works for Saudi funds to enter capital markets in Turkey, the person added.<\/p>\n
Prince Mohammed is on his first tour outside the Gulf region in over three years including a visit to Jordan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is probably one of the most significant visits to Ankara by a foreign leader in almost a decade,\u201d said the Washington Institute’s Turkey specialist Soner Cagaptay.<\/p>\n
\u201cErdogan is all about Erdogan. He’s all about winning elections and I think he has decided to kind of swallow his pride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cagaptay said Prince Mohammed is also trying to see whether he can win broader backing ahead of a possible new nuclear agreement between world powers and the Saudis’ arch-nemesis Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the Saudis are hedging their bets,\u201d Cagaptay said.<\/p>\n
Ties between Ankara and Riyadh cratered after a Saudi hit squad killed and dismembered Khashoggi in 2018 at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. Erdogan at the time blamed it on the \u201chighest levels\u201d of the Saudi government.<\/p>\n
Ankara has since stopped all criticism and halted its murder trial in April, transferring the case to Riyadh in a move condemned by human rights groups and criticised by opposition parties for trading honour for monetary support.<\/p>\n
The visit comes as Turkey’s economy is badly strained by a slumping lira and inflation soaring beyond 70 per cent. Saudi funds and foreign currency could help Erdogan shore up support ahead of tight elections by June 2023, analysts say.<\/p>\n
The Turkish official said Saudi Arabia may be interested in companies within the Turkish Wealth Fund or elsewhere, or in making investments similar to those by the United Arab Emirates in recent months.<\/p>\n
The leaders will also discuss the possible sale of Turkish armed drones to Riyadh, the person added.<\/p>\n
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said on Tuesday that Erdogan \u201cwill embrace the man who ordered the killing\u201d of Khashoggi.<\/p>\n
Prince Mohammed denies any involvement in the murder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Turkey for the first time in years on Wednesday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at fully normalising ties that were ruptured after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In April, Erdogan went to Saudi Arabia after a months-long drive to mend relations between the regional […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267468,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6724,8820,1385],"class_list":{"0":"post-267464","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"tag-saudi-crown-prince","9":"tag-sights","10":"tag-turkey"},"yoast_head":"\n