Turkey’s Erdogan seeks to mend rift with Saudis

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, his first visit there since Saudi agents in Istanbul killed and dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, sparking a deep, years-long rift between the two governments.

Erdogan, who called Khashoggi a friend, once led a global charge to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the 2018 murder, accusing the “highest levels” of the Saudi government of responsibility. But the Turkish leader has more recently sought to mend relations with the Saudis as he searches for ways to ease a crippling economic crisis, which was worsened by an unofficial Saudi boycott of Turkish goods.

Erdogan’s office made no advance announcement of the visit. At an airport in Istanbul before he departed, Erdogan told reporters his trip “will open the doors to a new era of our relations.”

“Around 40,000 of our citizens live in Saudi Arabia with their businesses that they have established and are making a contribution to the Saudi economy,” he said. “For Turkey, Saudi Arabia has a special place for trade, investments and large-scale projects that our developers for many years have carried out with success.”

He said that he would meet with King Salman, Saudi Arabia’s ruler, as well as his heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s day-today leader and the man the CIA said had probably ordered Khashoggi’s killing.

The crown prince has denied the accusation. Saudi officials have blamed the killing on operatives who went rogue.