Why is Turkey seeking to revive relations with Saudi Arabia?
Saudi analysts stress that the Turkish president has been forced to seek an “economic backer” due to the country’s precarious economic situation, which is why he has turned to Riyadh.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country is in dire economic straits, has recently begun efforts to integrate with the Gulf Arab states. Erdogan also expressed a desire to strengthen Turkey’s relations with Saudi Arabia.
Saad Abdullah al-Hamed, a Saudi writer and political analyst, emphasized Erdogan’s move: “The re-establishment of Saudi-Turkish relations is a complex issue that depends primarily on Turkey’s willingness to return to normalcy; “Whether with Saudi Arabia or the UAE or Egypt.”
Al-Hamid told Sputnik: “What has made relations between the two countries even weaker is the policy of Turkey during the Erdogan era; “From the revolutions of the Arab countries to the support of the currents of political Islam and some ‘terrorist’ groups and the hostile policy it pursued towards the Arab countries.”
The poor economic situation forced Erdogan to turn to the Arab world.
He also believes that Turkish media propaganda has also affected Riyadh-Ankara relations; Especially in the case of the murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashgechi by Riyadh agents. The Saudi analyst, meanwhile, said that “there has been a major shift in Turkish foreign policy; “In a way, [Erdogan] is trying to change the situation because of the bad economic situation that has affected the internal situation of this country.”
Al-Hamid pointed to the impact of bad economic conditions on the AKP’s position and Erdogan’s situation in the upcoming elections in the country, noting that the domestic opposition and Turkish citizens are calling for a major change as a result of economic policies inside Turkey; Policies that affect Turkish citizens. For this reason, “the resumption of relations depends on honesty and the guarantee of a change in his (Erdogan) policies.”
