The war in Ukraine has encouraged Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to quickly reset relations with his West Asian neighbours so that he is better placed to cope with the serious geopolitical challenges emerging from the conflict.
This process of course-correction began when Israeli president Isaac Herzog visited Turkey on March 9 this year, ending a decade of strained ties, largely on account of Turkey’s support for Palestinian interests. The bonhomie created by the visit has continued, with regular telephonic conversations between the leaders of the two countries and indications that Mr. Erdogan might visit Israel shortly.
The more dramatic Turkish outreach has been to Saudi Arabia, with Mr. Erdogan’s visit on April 28-29. The visit was preceded by the special prosecutor in Turkey transferring the criminal case against 26 Saudi nationals for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi to the kingdom itself, thus closing this sensitive and divisive matter. Saudi Arabia reciprocated by removing the ban on the import of Turkish goods, which had reduced Turkish exports from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $200 million last year.
