Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Tuesday constructive discussions were held with his Saudi Arabian counterpart and they agreed to improve ties, as the two countries work to repair their strained regional relations.
Speaking to state media after a meeting of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad, Çavuşoğlu said his discussions with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had been "very beneficial and goal-oriented" and would help in normalizing ties.
Turkey is engaged in an effort to mend its frayed ties through intensified diplomacy with regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, after years of tensions. Erdoğan had reiterated that Turkey hopes to maximize cooperation with Egypt and Gulf nations "on a win-win basis."
Ties between Ankara and Riyadh have been troubled since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Following Turkish demands for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and other officials to be prosecuted, Riyadh imposed an unofficial boycott on goods from Turkey. However, Ankara and Riyadh have in recent months attempted to repair some diplomatic damage after a decade of tension.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently touched upon the normalization steps taken with Saudi Arabia and said that Ankara aims to improve bilateral relations with Riyadh.
Highlighting the recent diplomatic contact between the two countries' senior officials, he said: "We wish to continue our positive dialogue and to advance our relations with concrete steps in the coming period."
