Erdogan tests waters in Riyadh
Diplomats argue that Erdogan’s Saudi Arabia visit is an attempt to regain some of the regional clout Turkey has lost in the Middle East.
A month after attending the funeral of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was back in Riyadh this week holding talks with new King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud on regional issues in what diplomats are interpreting as an effort by Ankara to regain some of the regional clout it lost in recent years.
Erdogan’s visit follows his recent remark that “he could care less” about Turkey’s regional isolation, which his chief foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin has dubbed “precious loneliness,” arguing that it is based on Turkey’s ethical stance on regional issues.
Erdogan’s acerbic opposition to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for ousting democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi, and Erdogan's determined support of the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been banned by Sisi as a terrorist organization, are examples of this “ethical stance.”
Due to a quirk of diplomatic scheduling — if indeed such a thing is possible — Sisi was in Riyadh at the same time as Erdogan, holding talks with Salman on regional issues and consolidating the strategic ties between the two countries. The visit led to speculation that Saudi Arabia was preparing to mediate between Erdogan and Sisi.
