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Turkey' fears further downward spiral in relations with Saudi Arabia

Ankara worries that the "unofficial boycott" is just the start of increased acrimony with Riyadh.
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“We have been spiraling deep down the rabbit hole since the Syrian civil war started in 2011,” a senior bureaucrat working for the security establishment told Al-Monitor. “We tried to mend bridges with Saudi Arabia, hoping to isolate Abu Dhabi — hoping that when the embargo against Qatar ends, we will continue on good terms with Riyadh.”

This conversation took place a few minutes after Numan Kurtulmus, deputy chairperson of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), made harsh comments on television Oct. 18 about the Saudi boycott of Turkish goods. “We just laugh at some countries’ boycotts and move on. They should first learn to exist as an independent country,” said Kurtulmus. This was the first official reaction to the unofficial yet quite caustic boycott led by Saudi Arabia.

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