President Erdoğan, who suspended his African tour for a day to attend the funeral of Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, said Turkey's decision to declare a day of mourning was done to show the importance the government attached to bilateral relations.

He noted that certain issues, for example on Egypt, had produced differences of opinion between the two countries, but the government had always been for improving ties. "There are topics that we agree on. On Egypt, as well as on Syria and Palestine, there are issues where we don't see eye to eye. We don't want such differences to cloud bilateral ties," he said.

When asked about the belief that the new Saudi Arabian administration could follow a different trajectory concerning certain issues, including the previously negative stance taken toward the Muslim Brotherhood, Erdoğan said no one should rush to judgments.

"Everyone should wait and see what King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz does. I personally would like to go and visit him and wish him well within the next week or 10 days. However, one should not forget about the games played on the Muslim world. Some are trying to divide the Muslim world. As I said before, this is done by a supreme mind. The stance taken toward it is very important. As King Salman said, we need to work together to ensure there is unity and cooperation in the Muslim world. Turkey and Saudi Arabia need to work together," he said.