Saudi Arabia said Monday it deposited $5 billion into the Turkish central bank, likely helping Ankara firm up its long-weakening currency, the lira, after last month's massive earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria.
The deposit provides a capstone for just how far relations have improved between the kingdom and Turkey after years of tensions the nations, particularly after the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Turkey also backed Qatar in a yearslong boycott by the kingdom, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
