Saudi Arabia sends Saad Hariri to Ankara as a diplomatic mediator
Reliable sources said that the Saudi regime is seeking to accomplish reconciliation with Turkey. It has recently appointed Lebanon’s Saad Hariri to mediate with Ankara.
The sources revealed a few days ago to Saudi Leaks that King Salman leads the new Saudi steps to reach reconciliation with Turkey.
However, the Lebanese Al-Jadid channel revealed, that the visit of Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri to Turkey came with an Arab mandate to open the mediation doors between Ankara and Riyadh.
The channel stated that “An Arab commissioned Hariri’s mission in Turkey. He went there with a secret mission related to mediation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, with Emirati approval.”
Diplomatic mission
A few days ago, Hariri arrived in Turkey on an unannounced visit and met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday in Istanbul.
Official departments said that during the meeting, they discussed ways to strengthen political, economic, commercial and cultural relations and cooperation in regional issues before the Lebanese channel talks about “means of mediation.”
The Lebanese channel’s interview coincides with statements by Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, the special envoy of the Qatari foreign minister for combating terrorism and mediating in settlement of disputes.
Al-Qahtani announced that Doha was ready to mediate between Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The Qatari envoy’s statements came amid indications of a Turkish-Saudi rapprochement, especially after the Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued last week, welcomed Gulf reconciliation efforts.
The Gulf Reconciliation
In this regard, we cannot ignore the statements of the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, on Monday, in which he said that there are encouraging signs of a return to normal relations with Turkey.
After months of tension and deadlock in relations for several reasons, the most important is the killing of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country’s consulate in Istanbul.
Recent weeks have witnessed several indicators that may indicate some kind of improvement in Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s relations.
Weeks ago, the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, offered condolences to the earthquake victims of the Turkish state of Izmir and announcing aid for those affected by the earthquake his directives.
The move was followed by contact between the Saudi king and the Turkish president, a day before the G20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia.
