UPDATE WITH ERDOGAN’S MEETINGS WITH KING SALMAN AND CROWN PRINCE
By Ilkay Guder
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AA) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Sunday in the Saudi city of Jeddah on the first leg of his Gulf tour that will also include Kuwait and Qatar.
Erdogan was greeted by a number of Saudi officials upon his arrival at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.
The Turkish leader separately met with Saudi King Salman and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Erdogan is being accompanied by a high-profile delegation that includes Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Hakan Fidan.
The visit comes amid a Gulf crisis after four Arab states — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt — cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed a blockade on the tiny Gulf country, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.
Doha, for its part, denies the accusation and describes the blockade as a violation of international law.
