Turkey is continuing a "positive dialogue" with Saudi Arabia and wants to take concrete steps in the coming days to improve ties, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was cited as saying on Wednesday, amid a regional charm offensive by Turkey to mend strained relations.
Ties between Ankara and Riyadh have been troubled since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Following Turkish demands for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other officials to be prosecuted, Riyadh imposed an unofficial boycott on goods from Turkey.
In 2020, Saudi Arabia jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for Khashoggi's murder. At the time Ankara said the verdict fell short of expectations, but has since softened its tone as part of a broader attempt to repair ties with the Gulf, even going as far as saying it has no problems with Riyadh.
"We are continuing our positive dialogue with Saudi Arabia. We want to continue by taking concrete steps in the coming period. We want to develop the process in a positive direction," Erdoğan told reporters on a flight back from the United Arab Emirates.
Turkey is in close contact with both Russian and Ukrainian leaders in order to help ease tensions between the two countries, Erdoğan stressed in his comments to reporters.
Erdoğan also said he will speak to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the phone to learn about his views on a possible trilateral meeting of Turkey, Russia, Ukraine.
"In our meeting with (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky, he stated that he is open to a trilateral meeting in Istanbul or Ankara," Erdoğan added.
"We will try to follow the issue accordingly. A war bodes no good for the well-being of the region," he underlined.
On Israeli President Isaac Herzog's upcoming visit to Turkiye in March, Erdoğan said: "Such a step would be good for Turkey-Israel relations."
Erdoğan stressed the importance of who Libyans choose in eventual elections when asked about that country's parliament assigning a new prime minister.
Turkey has provided military support and training to Libya's former internationally recognised Government of National Accord, and helped it fight off an assault lasting several months on the capital Tripoli by eastern Libyan forces led by Khalifa Haftar. It still has military personnel and fighters in Libya.
Last week, the Parliament spokesman declared Fathi Bashagha the new interim prime minister after a rival candidate withdrew, but it was not clear if the chamber had held a vote. Incumbent Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah has said he does not recognise the attempt to remove him and will not step down.
"Fathi Bashagha announced his candidacy. Our ties with Fathi Bashagha are good. On the other hand, (ties) are also good with Dbeibah," Erdoğan told reporters on a return flight from Dubai. "The important thing is who the Libyan people choose and how," he was cited as saying by Turkish media.
He also said an assassination attempt on Dbeibah last week was "saddening".
On his two-day official visit to the UAE, Erdoğan said he had "very productive" meetings with Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
"We discussed the joint steps we can take to further develop the relations between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates," he said.
"We underlined our support for the security and stability of the United Arab Emirates," he stressed.
Noting that Turkey and the UAE signed 13 agreements in various fields, including defense, trade, logistics, health, technology, and climate change, the president said: "I wish the agreements will be beneficial for our countries and region."
On tensions with Greece, Erdoğan said Turkey will make the highest-level warning if Greece continues with its provocations.
"It is not possible for us to remain silent on the military activities carried out in violation of the agreements on the islands with a demilitarized status," he said.
"As a matter of fact, we have brought this issue to the agenda of the UN."
He also criticized Greece over the death of 19 migrants who were found frozen to death at the border.
"We will continue to inform Europeans about it," he said.
