Turkish Pres. Recep Erdoğan met on Thurs. with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father, King Salman, in Jeddah.
The trip comes three weeks after a Turkish court halted the trial of Saudi security officials charged with killing and dismembering Jamal Khashoggi.
Erdoğan tried to use the Khashoggi case in his quest to define the regional ruling model after the Arab spring in 2011. However, as Ankara faces its worst economic crisis so far this century, it has no choice but to be pragmatic and look for every option available to tackle inflation and get the economy back on track.
Riyadh is understandably wary of Erdoğan after he sought to receive major investments by blackmailing Saudi Arabia with the Khashoggi case. This has strained the relationship between the leaders and won't be easily forgiven. Despite Turkey's best efforts, political cooperation with Saudi Arabia isn't likely to come together with trade reconciliation.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia are brotherly countries with historical, cultural and human ties. Though they have had issues in the past due to regional politics, it's now necessary that they resolve their differences and move forward to create a more stable and economically prosperous Middle East.