Originally posted on the Middle East Monitor website, January 19, 2021
Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are making efforts to improve their relations following the signing of the “solidarity and stability” agreement between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on one hand and Qatar on the other, Turkish media have reported.
According to Türkiye newspaper, diplomatic sources in Ankara said that after Turkey’s firm positions over the past three years in response to Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, as well as the Gulf reconciliation, the government has received positive messages. The most surprising of these came from the UAE, which declared its desire to improve relations with Turkey.
“Ankara has met these messages positively and is in contact with Abu Dhabi,” explained the sources. Moreover, Tugay Tuncer has been appointed as the new ambassador to the UAE. Analysts believe that Tuncer’s appointment will contribute to improved relations between the two countries. The veteran diplomat played a key role in improving relations with Israel.
Last week, the UAE’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, expressed his country’s willingness to normalise relations with Turkey.
“What we want to tell Turkey is that we want to normalise our relations within the framework of mutual respect for sovereignty,” Gargash told UAE-based Sky News Arabia. “The UAE is Turkey’s number one trade partner in the Middle East, and we don’t cherish any feuds with it.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210119-turkey-and-the-uae-move-to-improve-relations/
