Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to be planning a trip to Turkey. Contacts between the countries are strengthened even more, since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi has been put aside.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been at loggerheads for a long time due to the internationally acclaimed assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. But during the spring, the countries have lubricated their relationship.
In early April, Turkey completed the investigation into the murder, in which 26 Saudi citizens had been detained in their absence. The case was handed over to Saudi Arabia. Shortly afterwards, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that he would travel to Riyadh to usher in a “new era” in the relationship.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will visit Ankara on June 22, a Turkish source told AFP.
US President Joe Biden, who has previously criticized Saudi Arabia in connection with the journalist assassination, has now also announced a visit there. He will meet the Crown Prince in Jeddah at the end of July. French President Emmanuel Macron was there in December.
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, was singled out at an early stage for the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, but formal charges have never been leveled against him and sanctions have only been leveled at other Saudis, some around him.