Turkey to continue dialogue on disputes with Saudi Arabia: FM Çavuşoğlu

Duvar English - Reuters

Turkey and Saudi Arabia will maintain dialogue to address their disagreements, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on May 11, after discussing bilateral ties and Israeli actions in Jerusalem and Gaza with his Saudi counterpart in Mecca.

Çavuşoğlu and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met for talks aimed at overcoming a rift over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul that led to bitter recriminations and a Saudi boycott of Turkish goods.

"I want to thank my brother Prince Faisal for his invitation and hospitality. We held a very open and frank meeting and addressed some problematic areas in our relationship," Çavuşoğlu said in televised comments.

"We also discussed how to increase our cooperation in bilateral ties and in regional issues. We decided to continue our dialogue and I invited him to Turkey," Çavuşoğlu said.

The two ministers also discussed the aggression of Israel, Çavuşoğlu said, after the Arab League condemned deadly Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to move urgently to stop escalating violence against Palestinians in Jerusalem.

"With the Saudi foreign minister, we didn't just discuss our bilateral ties, but we also discussed the steps we can take within the OIC, Arab League and beyond," he said, using the acronym for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. "We also evaluated other regional issues." 

Çavuşoğlu also wrote on Twitter that he had agreed with his Saudi counterpart to "work on positive issues on our common agenda and to hold regular consultations." 

"Our close cooperation will contribute to stability, peace and prosperity in the region," he wrote.