Erdogan kicks off Gulf crisis diplomacy with Saudi visit

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Erdogan kicks off Gulf crisis diplomacy with Saudi visit

 

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, July 23, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Saudi Arabia and met King Salman on Sunday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, his first stop on a Gulf diplomatic tour aimed at healing an Arab rift with Ankara's ally Qatar.

 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties and imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges.

 

The boycotting countries want Qatar to close down a Turkish base, curb relations with their arch-foe Iran and close down the Al Jazeera TV channel.

 

King Salman and Erdogan discussed "efforts to combat terrorism and its sources of funding," SPA reported.

 

Erdogan is also scheduled to visit Kuwait, which is attempting to mediate the crisis, and Qatar during the two-day trip.

 

(Reporting By Hussain Alsadah and Noah Browning; Editing by Toby Chopra)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-24

[harada]

Erdogan the consummate mediator.  

[humqdpf]

2 hours ago, harada said:

Erdogan the consummate mediator.  

They don't nicname him Exocet for nothing!

 

Besides, he is sitting beside the wrong man. He should be meeting with the Crown Prince who is the mover and shaker, who is responsible for external affairs in the Kingdom.

[spidermike007]

He may as well start off with the filthiest nation on earth. Wahhabism needs to be crushed. Stamped out at it's core, which is the disgusting, nasty, corrupt, violence loving House of Saud. The have spent over a hundred billion dollars on the madrasas, and the promotion of extremism and terror. 

 

You might say the N. Koreas are more of a threat. I do not think so. Kim talks, and talks and talks. Sure, he is building a nuclear arsenal, and that is a problem for all of us. But, up until now, all he has done is kill alot of his family, and friends, and starve his people. At least he is open about it. The Saudis act like honorable people. They behave like real members of society, all the while attempting to bring down the world order, and wreaking terror around the world. They are the real enemy number one.