The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz held official talks with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Yamamah Palace in Riyadh yesterday during which they reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed ways of strengthening them. They also discussed regional and international developments.

The Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir confirmed that the talks between King Salman and his guest, the Turkish president, were “positive and constructive”. Al-Jubeir also added that he held talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, and they discussed ways of combating terrorism and stopping Iranian intervention in the affairs of the region.

Al-Jubeir revealed that Saudi Arabia and Turkey had agreed to form a strategic cooperation council which will be managed by ministers of both countries. He said that the aim of forming this council is to “create a quantum leap in the strength of the relationship between the two countries so that it is strategic and serves the interests of the two countries and their peoples, and contributes to the creation of security and stability in the region”. He added that the “scope of the council’s work will be in the fields of politics, economics and security, and aims for the partnership between the two countries to be through agencies which guarantee continuity of cooperation and coordination”.

Al-Jubeir stressed that Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s position on the Syrian crisis is identical and consistent, and that the two countries are committed to supporting the moderate Syrian opposition and are striving for a Syrian future without the presence of Bashar Al-Assad.

The Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that “Saudi Arabia and Turkey are committed to uniting the moderate Syrian opposition and are working closely in this area”. He added that his country supports Saudi Arabia’s formation of the military Islamic alliance and that it supported Operation Desert Storm to restore legality in Yemen from day one.