Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Will Visit Turkey

A senior Turkish official told AFP Friday that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Turkey on June 22, as Turkey and Saudi move forward from the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

It is Prince Mohammed’s first visit to Turkey since the gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which horrified the world and caused severe damage to relations between the regional rivals.

The official stated that the visit’s specifics will be published “over the weekend.”

The two nations will sign many agreements during the visit, which is scheduled to take place in Ankara, although the exact site has yet to be determined, according to the official.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, had previously visited Saudi Arabia in late April when he met the prince before travelling to Mecca.

According to Saudi state news agency SPA, the duo “discussed Saudi-Turkish ties and methods to improve them in all spheres.”

In October 2018, Saudi operatives murdered and dismembered Khashoggi, an insider turned critic, in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate. His remains were never discovered.

Erdogan earlier stated that the death was ordered at the “highest levels” of the Saudi govt, and Turkey enraged the Saudis by fiercely pursuing the issue, establishing an inquiry, and informing foreign media of the gruesome details of the murder.

Turkey already had bad ties with Saudi Arabia due to its backing for Qatar during the Riyadh-led embargo of the Gulf state, but ties remained frozen for three years following Khashoggi’s murder.

At the time, Saudi Arabia retaliated with an unofficial embargo of Turkish goods, placing strain on Turkey’s economy.

With soaring inflation and a cost-of-living issue just a year away from a presidential election, Erdogan is looking for support from Gulf nations.