[ad_1]
Turkish President Erdogan and Saudi King Salman discussed bilateral relations and agreed to resolve persistent disputes.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed ways to strengthen ties with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in a rare phone call since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The phone call came on the eve of the G20 leaders summit hosted by Riyadh on Saturday and Sunday.
Erdogan and the Saudi king discussed bilateral relations and exchanged views on the G20 summit, the Turkish presidency said Friday night.
The Turkish leader will address the summit via video link at 13:00 GMT.
“President Erdogan and King Salman agreed to keep the channels of dialogue open to improve bilateral relations and solve problems,” the presidency said.
Ankara and Riyadh have been at odds on a number of issues, including policies in the Libyan and Syrian conflicts.
People hold posters of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi near the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul [File: Emrah Gurel/AP]
But tensions between the two regional powers have escalated since the 2018 assassination of Washington Post contributor Khashoggi at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul.
The case has sparked an international outcry and tarnished the worldwide reputation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
Khashoggi was strangled and his body hacked to pieces by a 15-man Saudi assault squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His remains have not been found.
Erdogan has said that the order to assassinate Khashoggi came from “the highest levels” of the Saudi government, but never directly blamed MBS.
In September, a Saudi court overturned five death sentences handed down after a closed-door trial in Saudi Arabia that ended last year and sentenced them to 20 years in prison.
On November 24, a trial resumes in Turkey against key Saudi officials, including those close to MBS.
[ad_2]
