Saudi king 'advised to mend relations with Turkey': report

Saudi king 'advised to mend relations with Turkey': report
A senior advisor to King Salman reportedly suggested the kingdom warm up to Turkey as US President-elect Joe Biden is set to take office.
2 min read
28 November, 2020
Senior advisors to King Salman reportedly fear US-Saudi relations will sour under Biden [Getty]
Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was reportedly told by his close advisors to improve relations with Turkey after Joe Biden was elected as the next US president.

In a Friday report, Arabi 21 cited sources claiming senior advisors to King Salman informed him of "the need to improve relations with Turkey" for the kingdom to maintain its regional position under Biden.

While the kingdom is a historic ally of the US, American-Saudi ties were especially close under Republican President Donald Trump.

Senior advisors to King Salman now fear relations will sour after Biden takes office, according to the report.

Biden has pledged to "reassess" the US relationship with the oil-rich conservative kingdom and has made critical remarks in recent years. 

Biden has accused Saudi Arabia's government of murdering "children … and innocent people" in Yemen and has suggested that he would stop selling weapons to Riyadh. 

Read also: UAE suspends issuing visas for 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries over 'security concerns': report

As the Saudi Arabia braces for a potential fall-out with the US, King Salman is reportedly advised to better relations with Turkey.

Last week, the two countries – which back different sides in regional conflicts – agreed to keep open channels of dialogue to resolve differences.

The move was announced following a phone call before the start of the G20 summit between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and King Salman, where the leaders discussed ties that have been strained since Saudi agents killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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