Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is seeking to buy armed unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) from Turkey, following years of tension between the two rival regional powers.
Ties between the both, Ankara and Riyadh have been strained since the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, at Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Trade collapsed under an informal Saudi boycott, but both countries have said that they will work to improve their relations.
While speaking during a press briefing, Erdogan expressed his displeasure at the kingdom’s decision to conduct joint air exercises with Turkey’s longstanding rival Greece, suggesting an agreement on drones depended on Riyadh’s future conduct.
“Saudi Arabia is conducting joint exercises with Greece,” said Erdogan.
“But on the other hand, right now there is request from Saudi Arabia for armed UAVs from Turkey, those are the latest developments. Our hope is to solve this issue calmly without getting heated,” he further added.
Turkey has emerged as one of the world’s premier makers of armed drones, which helped ally Azerbaijan make sweeping gains in a six-week war with Armenia last year over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Also, in recent years, many countries have shown interest in Turkish-made drones, they have been deployed to the conflicts in Syria and Libya.
Riyadh already has a technology transfer agreement with Turkey’s private Vestel Company that allows Saudi Arabia to manufacture its own military drones.
Turkey’s hopes of easing tensions with Saudi Arabia are part of a wider regional effort. Ankara has repeatedly said it also sees prospects to improve relations with Egypt, strained since the Egyptian army toppled Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed Morsi, who was close to Erdogan, in 2013.
Last week, Erdogan and his foreign minister said that Turkey had resumed diplomatic contacts with Egypt and wants further cooperation. Cairo said Turkey’s actions “must show alignment with Egyptian principles” to normalize ties.