Erdogan-King Salman Agree to Solve Problems with Dialogue

Ankara, MINA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the King of Saudi Arabia Salman agreed to improve bilateral relations and resolve important disputes through dialogue. Both spoke by telephone on Friday.

“President Erdogan and King Salman agreed to keep the lines of dialogue open to improve bilateral ties and resolve problems,” Erdogan said in a statement, adding that the two leaders were also discussing a G20 summit.

The Saudi news agency (SPA) reported that King Salman contacted Erdogan by telephone to coordinate efforts within the framework of the G20 summit, which will take place on November 21 and 22, 2020.

The relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia have been strained for years. The killing of middle east columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 sharply heightened tensions.

For more than a year, some Saudi and Turkish traders speculated Saudi Arabia was implementing an unofficial boycott of imports from Turkey. Middle East Eye first reports plans in 2019.

Last month, the Financial Times reported an unofficial boycott hit the international fashion scene when the Spanish tribe brand Mango reconsidered their supplier in Turkey because of an embargo by Saudi authorities.

Turkey is one of the largest textile producers in Europe and the Middle East. The country exported $ 18 billion worth of clothing in 2019.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian officials denied claims of blocking Turkish goods in October. The head of the non-governmental chamber of commerce in Riyadh asks the government to form an official boycott in response to the Turkish government’s lingering hostility towards Saudi Arabia. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)