Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince MBS hold phone call

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan meets with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2022.

PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdoğan late Monday held a phone call with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), according to a statement by Turkey’s Communications Directorate.

Erdoğan conveyed his get well soon wishes to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud after being informed of his health condition, the statement said.

King Salman, 86, was admitted to a hospital in the Saudi port city of Jiddah and underwent a colonoscopy on Sunday. Doctors instructed the king to stay in the hospital for “some time” to rest, state-run media reported.

The king underwent gallbladder surgery in 2020 and had the battery of his heart pacemaker replaced in March.

The king became ruler of the world’s top oil exporter in 2015 after spending more than 2 1/2 years as the crown prince and deputy premier.

Erdoğan and the crown prince also discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, the statement said.

The phone call comes after Erdoğan late last month paid the first high-level visit to Saudi Arabia in years to restore the ties between Ankara and Riyadh.

The visit was seen as an example of a common will to start a new period with Riyadh and potentially the start of a new era in political, military, economic and cultural cooperation.

Following the 2011 Arab Spring, ideological differences and rival foreign policy objectives directed Ankara and Riyadh in different directions, making them fierce regional rivals.

Relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia nosedived soon after, but both countries are now seeking to revive ties.