President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan traveled to Saudi Arabia on April 28 to mend a rift between the countries caused by the murder of Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018.
The two-day trip comes as Ankara and Riyadh have, in recent months, attempted to repair some diplomatic damage after a decade of tension.
Erdoğan, answering to a question about his talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin before his departure to Riyadh, informed that they discussed the prisoner swap between Russia and the United States in Ankara.
He stressed that this could happen thanks to the efforts of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), saying “Mr. Putin told me ‘We trust in you. This latest step was very, very positive. I called you to thank you.”
On a question, Erdoğan stressed he would also talk to U.S. President Joe Biden if the American president would also exchange views with him on the developments.
Erdoğan is expected to meet King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the country’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.
Hurriyet Daily News