When Recep Tayyip Erdogan greeted the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques by saying that “Turkey considers King Salman’s policy a safety valve and a cause of stability in the region”, it seemed that the important, strategic and political bridge that was agreed upon during the Saudi Arabian king’s historic visit to Egypt was extended to Turkey even though Turkish – Egyptian relations need special attention from Saudi Arabia.
While the Saudi – Turkish summit, the third in six months, began, the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had completed an important visit to Jordan at the invitation of King Abdullah II, and then immediately travelled to Abu Dhabi where he held a meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. It is clear that the two visits are part of active political dynamics to implement King Salman’s decision to correct the imbalance at regional and international levels.
It is on this basis that Erdogan said that King Salman’s policy is a safety valve for the region. It is also on this basis that one can say that the Saudi monarch did not only agree to build a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Egypt during his historic visit to Egypt, but that he also agreed to build a bridge that would support the Arab region.
On the 26th of March last year, King Salman launched operation “Decisive Storm” in response to the request of the legitimate Yemeni government to eradicate the chaos caused by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Almost a year after the decision to support legitimacy in Yemen in the face of the Houthis and their sponsors, it became clear that Salman’s storm is raging in many ways. If it raged militarily by means of the Gulf alliance and restored legitimacy to the doors of Sana’a which forced the rebels to bow and accept the negotiations in Kuwait on the basis of Resolution 2216, then it is raging politically at different levels in order to establish wide ranging strategic alliances.
Operation “Decisive Storm” is a policy and a strategy to end the imbalance in the region which made Iran interfere and create problems in almost all countries in the region. Iran does not hesitate to negotiate nuclear deals with America and the west as though it is the pivotal force that is dominant in the region!
Therefore it was natural that Saudi Arabia and Jordan announce their rejection of Iran’s policy of interference in the region, inciting discord and developing terrorism after King Abdullah II and Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks. They also warned Tehran against continuing with its current approach which is deepening the disputes and conflicts in the region and targets stability.
When King Salman ended his historic visit to Egypt by flying straight to Ankara to hold a summit with Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the two leaders travelled to Istanbul to participate in the OIC summit, and the Turkish president said that King Salman’s policy is considered the safety valve for the region, should we assume that Turkey also believes that it is necessary to follow in the footsteps of operation “Decisive Storm”?
King Salman’s speech addressing the Egyptian parliament outlined a bridge for strong Islamic and Arab strategy to face the escalating challenges targeting the region from within it and outside it.