Turkey, which this year sought to normalise ties with Saudi Arabia after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, is now seeking foreign financial support to bolster its struggling economy ahead of elections in 2019.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that it was not appropriate for the United States to pressure Saudi Arabia after OPEC+ oil producers announced production cuts, despite U.S. objections.
“We see that a country has threatened Saudi Arabia, especially recently. This bullying is not correct,” Cavusoglu said at a news conference in southern Turkey.
Last week, President Joe Biden said that there would be repercussions for U.S.-Saudi relations if OPEC + agreed to reduce oil production.
There was no politics involved in OPEC+’s decision to boost production, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said, emphasizing it was purely economic.
It is wrong for the United States to use sanctions as a tool to pressure other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Cavusoglu said.
Turkey, an oil importer, this year has sought to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia, which were severed after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. Since Turkey needs foreign financial support to sustain its struggling economy ahead of elections next year, it now looks to Saudi Arabia for help.
Erdogan previously held one-on-one talks with Prince Mohammed in Saudi Arabia in April, after earlier dropping the Turkish trial over Khashoggi’s 2018 murder in Istanbul.
Image Credit: Tarik Haiga on Unsplash
