Saudi Crown Prince on a political journey: Muhammad bin Salman arrived in Turkey today (Wednesday) for the first time after nine years of disengagement since the events of the Arab Spring.
During the visit, he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who welcomed him in Ankara.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated further after the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Hashukaji at the consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Turkey has been brewing in recent months, when in April Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia and met with the regent and King Salman.
At the same time, the judicial system in Turkey has decided at a particularly convenient time to transfer the trial of some of the suspects in Hashukaji's assassination squad to Saudi Arabia.
An honor guard in Ankara in honor of the arrival of Ben Salman, Photo: Reuters
Ben Salman is on a political campaign ahead of next month's regional summit in Saudi Arabia and US President Joe Biden's visit to the Arab kingdom. Washington and Riyadh are seeking to restore relations that have been strained since Democrats came to power in the United States.
One of the issues that clouded the relationship was the removal of the Houthi militia in Yemen from the list of US terrorist organizations, for reasons related to the transfer of humanitarian aid.
Relations with Jordan
Yesterday, Ben Salman met with King Abdullah of Jordan.
There is also a slight tension between Amman and Riyadh.
Earlier this month, a senior Saudi commentator published an article calling for the integration of Palestinians in Jordan civilly, which provoked resentment in the Jordanian press.
King Abdullah welcomes Ben Salman, Photo: AFP
Another issue is the series of arrests in Jordan that took place in April 2021 and the accusation of Jordanian officials, including Prince Hamza, of involvement in an attempted coup against King Abdullah.
One of the senior officials, Bassem Awadala, who was previously Ben Salman's adviser, was sent along with Sheriff Ben Hassan Zeid to 15 years in prison in July 2021.
Before Jordan, Ben Salman visited Cairo and met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
In recent weeks, Israel Today reported that as part of the US-mediated agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Jerusalem should give the green light to the transfer of sovereignty over the islands of Tiran and Cairo from Cairo to Riyadh.
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