Syrian imbroglio figures high in talks between Kingdom, Turkey

Civil unrest in Syria topped the agenda of talks held between Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal held and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu Thursday. “Bilateral relations, as well as key regional and international issues including Iraq and Yemen were also discussed in the meeting,” said Turkish Ambassador to the Kingdom, Yunus Demirer.
“The Syrian crisis figured quite prominently during the ministerial talks,” said Demirer while referring to the mutual agreements on Syria and on a host of key regional issues.
Demirer said that both ministers agreed to continue periodic consultations in the future. The meeting was followed by an inter-delegation session and a working lunch. All meetings were closed to the press.
The meeting was attended by Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah deputy minister of foreign affairs, Nizar Obaid Madani, minister of state for foreign affairs, and a number of officials.
Cavusoglu, who wrapped up his daylong visit and left for Turkmenistan to join the delegation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip on Thursday evening, also met with Turkish businessmen and citizens in Riyadh.
He visited the Riyadh-based Turkish school, where more than 2000 students are currently on the rolls.
In a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkey condemned the latest terror attacks in Saudi Arabia. “Turkey attributes special significance to the maintenance of security and stability in Saudi Arabia, which has a major position and role in the region and the world at large,” said the statement.
It added that Turkey would continue to cooperate with Saudi Arabia to combat terrorism. Turkey and the Kingdom are the main pillars for stability in the region, it noted.
Saudi Arabia and Turkey have forged closer ties in different fields. On the commercial front, the trade between Riyadh and Ankara exceeds $8 billion annually. Total investments made by Turkish firms in Saudi Arabia exceeded $1 billion today as against the total value of its investment in the entire Middle East, which stands at $4 billion. Minister Cavusoglu was visiting Riyadh in response to an invitation from Prince Saud.