Reuters Murad Sezer
“Bloomberg” agency quoted informed sources as saying that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have started initial moves to improve relations with Turkey, which could benefit the fields of trade and security in the Middle East.
The agency said, in a report published today, Thursday, that “sources familiar with this strategy” told her that “Saudi Arabia and the UAE are studying the possibility of improving relations with Turkey, which could benefit trade and security in the unstable region.”
“These steps are preliminary against the backdrop of tensions and a long-running struggle for influence,” Bloomberg said, suggesting that they may falter due to the two Gulf states ’prolonged efforts to give up support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which Saudi Arabia and the UAE consider terrorists.
However, the report pointed out at the same time that “even limited progress may ease tensions over broader regional issues,” especially since these developments come after reconciliation between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on the one hand with Qatar on the other hand, as the latter is a close ally of Turkey. In the region.
This also coincides with the transfer of power in the United States to the administration of the new president, Joe Biden, who is expected to take a tougher approach towards Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
In this context, the agency reported that a Turkish official informed it that Turkey and the UAE had discussed removing barriers to trade between them, adding that the proposals prompted the recent decision to resume flights between Ankara and Abu Dhabi, which had previously been stopped by the Coronavirus pandemic.
A person familiar with the position of the Gulf states described these developments as “a process in its early stages.” The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, added that the issue of the “Muslim Brotherhood” is central to the concerns of the Arab Gulf states and to their close ally Egypt.
On the other hand, Turkish officials deny that there is direct or indirect communication from Abu Dhabi and Riyadh that included demands to change Ankara’s policy towards the “Muslim Brotherhood”, but they realize that this is a priority for the Gulf Arab countries even if there is little room for diplomacy in this regard, as Abu Dhabi considers And Riyadh to the group as destabilizing in the region.
Source: “Bloomberg”
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