Turkey condemns attacks on UAE, Saudi Arabia

ANKARA

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Jan. 24 condemned recent Houthi attacks against the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

“We condemn the terrorist acts perpetrated on Jan. 24 with ballistic missiles and drones against civilian targets in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia,” the ministry said in a written statement.

“We demand that these attacks, which constitute a clear violation of international law, stop immediately,” the ministry added.

Turkey has stepped up to restore its ties with both the Gulf countries recently.

Relations between Turkey and the UAE were heavily strained after a Saudi Arabia-led blockade on Qatar by Arab nations, including the UAE, lasted from mid-2017 to early last year. Doha is one of Ankara’s closest allies.

The UAE and Turkey backed opposing sides in the Libyan conflict, where a fragile ceasefire has been in place since October 2020.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan oversaw the signing of several investments and cooperation deals on Nov. 24 last year.

The relations between Ankara and Riyadh hit an all-time low over the 2018 killing in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was killed on Oct. 2, 2018, after he entered the consulate to get documents that would allow him to marry his Turkish fiancee, who was waiting outside. Turkish officials allege Khashoggi, who had written critically about Saudi Arabia’s crown prince for The Washington Post, was killed by a team of Saudi agents and then dismembered with a bone saw.