Turkey, Saudi hail ‘new era of cooperation’ as prince visits

By SUZAN FRASER and AYSE WIETING
Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey and Saudi Arabia have declared their readiness to start a “new era of cooperation.” The declaration came Wednesday during a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — his first to Turkey since the brutal slaying of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018. The rapprochement between Riyadh and Ankara comes as Turkey faces its worst economic crisis in two decades and is trying to draw investments. The killing of Khashoggi strained Turkish-Saudi relations and put pressure on Prince Mohammed. A U.S. intelligence assessment said he approved an operation to kill or capture the journalist, which he has denied. Khashoggi’s fiancée criticized the prince being welcomed to Ankara.