President Erdoğan meets with Saudi King in Jeddah on first leg of Gulf tour

JEDDAH – Anadolu Agency

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah on July 23 on the first leg of his Gulf tour, which will also include Kuwait and Qatar.

Erdoğan was greeted by a number of Saudi officials upon his arrival at the King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud International Airport in Jeddah.

The Turkish leader has met with Saudi King Salman and his crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his stay.

Erdoğan is accompanied by a high-profile delegation that includes Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak, National Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar and National Intelligence Agency (MİT) Chief Hakan Fidan.

The visit comes amid a Gulf crisis after four Arab states—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt—cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on the tiny Gulf country, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.      

Doha, for its part, denies the accusation and describes the blockade as a violation of international law.