What Does Erdogan Want From the Saudis?
The Turkish president’s speech revealed little new, and he held fire on Mohammed bin Salman. He may be after something in return.
Mohammed bin Salman heard nothing to worry him in Erdogan's speech today.
Photograph: Anadolu Agency
Earlier this week, I wrote about how the selective leaking of gory details from the Jamal Khashoggi investigation was hurting Turkey’s credibility. Here’s a consequence I had not anticipated: They’ve made Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s much anticipated speech a damp squib.
It’s likely that the speech was watched by the largest international audience Turkey’s president has ever had, not least because he promised to reveal the “naked truth” about the murder of the Washington Post columnist. As it turned out, he revealed very little that we didn’t already know from the steady supply of lurid snippets from Turkish officials ever since Khashoggi disappeared into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.