Turkey, Saudi Arabia to have further dialogue: Turkish FM

RIYADH

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on May 12 said he had an “open and sincere” discussion with his Saudi counterpart and that they discussed the steps to take to resolve the problematic areas in ties.

“We had a very open and sincere meeting. We decided to continue our dialogue,” the minister told reporters on May 11 after a meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Çavuşoğlu said he invited his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, to Turkey for the continuation of the talks, adding that the necessary work would be done to forge stronger bilateral ties.

Later, on Twitter, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey and Saudi Arabia agreed to work on positive issues of agreement and to hold regular consultations.

“Our close cooperation will contribute to stability, peace and prosperity in the region,” he added.

The minister paid the visit as Turkey and Saudi Arabia have stepped up to restore ties, and amid the ongoing tensions in Jerusalem after Israeli aggression at the Al Aqsa Mosque.

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

Elaborating on the recent tension in the region that erupted over Israeli attacks on Al-Aqsa, Çavuşoğlu said the Islamic world has always been condemning Israel over its aggressions, but people expect further steps to stop these attacks.

“Such attacks have to stop now. Of course, we need to protect the rights of Palestinians within the framework of international law. We should never veer from the two-state vision.”

Stating that steps to be taken for Palestinians in the face of Israeli attacks will be discussed in detail at an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers meeting next week, he also voiced hope for a decision on the Israeli attacks in an extraordinary meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.

Turkey will continue its efforts to protect the rights of Palestinians and other oppressed people, he added.