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France 24
France 24
World
Julia KIM

Saudi Arabia, Turkey seek to mend ties as crown prince visits Ankara

MIDDLE EAST MATTERS © FRANCE 24

The leaders of Saudi Arabia and Turkey are turning the page on years of strained relations, exacerbated by the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Face-to-face dialogue is the order of the day between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ahead of bin Salman's visit to Ankara this week, Saudi Arabia ended a travel ban on Turkey, opening the door once again to tourism and investment. To understand what's at stake, we speak to researcher Dorothée Schmid from French think tank IFRI.

Meanwhile in Turkey, which is home to some 3.6 million Syrian refugees, the ongoing economic crisis is fuelling a rise in xenophobia. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now threatening to send these refugees back to a "safe zone" his government is creating in northern Syria. In the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, one in four residents are Syrian and they are terrified by the idea. Our Turkey correspondents Shona Bhattacharyya, Ludovic de Foucaud and Hussam Hammoud report.

Finally, Israel is headed for the polls for the fifth time in three years, after its ruling coalition decided to dissolve parliament. The motley alliance of eight ideologically diverse parties was formed in opposition to former right-wing prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu. But a year after taking office, it has fallen apart amid political gridlock.

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