The visit by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdel-Aziz to Turkey in August 2006, and his second visit in 2007, certainly brought the countries' bilateral relations from a spell of coldness to one of warmth, after being lukewarm for 40 years. The visits caused a strategic leap in the history of these ties by focusing on a single doctrine, joint interests, and economic partnership. Current developments in the Middle East are being led by the Syrian crisis, and the necessity of coming up with an interactive stance that can be built on in order to stop the bloodshed and discuss the post-Assad phase, to guarantee the stability of the region. In light of these developments, the visit by the Saudi Crown Prince, Salman bin Abdel-Aziz, to Ankara last week takes on special importance. The turbulence that is being experienced by the Middle East requires the two most stable countries to work together on a single front to halt the deterioration, which is sweeping the enflamed region. The Crown Prince's discussion with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the ministers of foreign affairs and defense focused on the need to push in the direction of seeing an exit from the Syrian crisis, and the importance of arranging the aspects of the crisis based on the recent rapprochement between Moscow and Washington, in order to help the uprising of the Syrian people. There were also discussions of preparations for the Geneva 2 conference, after the failure of Geneva 1, and the importance of coming up with a settlement to tackle the entire situation in Syria, and punishing the Syrian regime under international law. From the available information, Turkey appeared ready and serious to support any international military action in Syria, while Saudi Arabia is urging the international community to arm the Free Syrian Army, in order to change the balance of power on the ground. The Assad regime is continuing to commit massacres and the regular army is cracking down using military force, and even prohibited methods of warfare, helped by Hezbollah and Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Saudi Arabia and Turkey will also work together to organize the ranks of the political opposition and not allow it to be infiltrated by extremist groups that serve the regime. In addition, they will form a common front to counter penetration by Iran and Hezbollah, and prevent a repeat of what happened in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. During a meeting with his accompanying media delegation, Prince Salman affirmed that the objective of the visit was consultation, along with boosting coordination and developing relations to support stability in the region, by exchanging the countries' points of view on regional issues. It was also about seeing the efforts being made arrive at clear understandings on a number of current issues in the region, in addition to signing a bilateral agreement on defense industry cooperation. The discussions between Saudi and Turkish officials also touched on the Iranian nuclear issue and its repercussions for the region's geostrategic map. They also broached on Tehran's interventions in the domestic affairs of a number of countries in the Middle East, especially Syria, and Hezbollah's taking part in fighting Syrians, as well as the sectarian strife and continuing poor conditions in Iraq, because of the actions of the Nuri al-Maliki government. Moreover, they talked about the need to work to prevent the explosion of sectarian strife in Lebanon. The two sides agreed to reject the current Sunni-Shiite tension and work to restore good ties among the peoples of the region, especially since Turkish policy has become active, and has succeeded in becoming a key player on political issues in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Palestine; it has been able to fill the vacuum due to the absence of big Arab countries from the scene. I spoke to President Abdullah Gul twice – in 2009, and before the Organization of the Islamic Conference in Mecca last year. Each time, he would speak about his memories and his personal ties to the Kingdom, and his great love for the city of Jeddah, where he worked for several years, and where one of his daughters was born. He has pleasant memories and enjoys personal ties with many Saudi families there. He would repeat during the meeting that King Abdullah was a very noble man. I remember that during the first meeting, I said to Gul that I had written a feature article about him in Al-Hayat, after the success of his party and his comrade, Erdogan, following his steps in Jeddah with his friend Salim Jaafar (from the Islamic Development Bank), the location of the apartment in which he lived for years, the Turkish restaurant Fairuz, which he would frequent with his fine wife and his children, his favorite Turkish dishes, and his monthly salary at the bank ($4,800). He was laughing, exhausted by political concerns, but he had been unable to turn the page on these memories. The visit is certainly important and it has added a positive dimension to the solid ties between the Kingdom and Turkey. It proved that Ankara wants to build special relations with Riyadh, since it is a strategically and politically-important country, and an oil state. It has Mecca and Medina, but at present the important question is how the two countries can help the Syrian people and their sufferings, stop the bloodbath and punish the Bashar Assad regime. [email protected] twitter | @JameelTheyabi
