Saudi Arabia, Turkiye seek broader cooperation to ease regional crises

Saudi-Turkish relations are growing stronger by the day, offering a model for the easing of tensions by setting aside contentious issues, expanding areas of common ground and sustaining serious dialogue. This approach has helped both sides narrow their differences — not by ignoring them, but by managing them — while prioritizing shared challenges and risks. These include Riyadh and Ankara’s efforts to ease the humanitarian suffering in Gaza and push for an end to Israeli hostilities, while they also share a commitment to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. They also stress the importance of preserving Syria’s unity and rejecting any attempt to divide it, while calling for reduced tensions across the Middle East to prevent a new military confrontation between Israel and the US on one side and Iran on the other.

On the sidelines of the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding for the joint production of the Gokbey general purpose helicopter in the Kingdom. The agreement enables long-term cooperation in joint production, building on advanced technological capabilities.

This collaboration comes after Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and his Turkish counterpart, Alparslan Bayraktar, last week signed a $2 billion solar energy investment agreement. In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Energy said that agreement aims to “enhance cooperation between the two countries in the fields of renewable energy and green technologies,” while also supporting the development and implementation of high-quality projects that diversify the energy mix and enhance energy security.

Relations between Riyadh and Ankara are steadily moving toward deeper mutual understanding

Hassan Al-Mustafa

These developments reflect how relations between Riyadh and Ankara are steadily moving toward deeper mutual understanding — an approach underscored by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s reception of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Riyadh last week. The visit featured an official meeting between the two leaders at a time of rising political and security risks in the Middle East, underscoring the summit’s significance. Riyadh and Ankara are also intensifying their efforts to ease tensions between the US and Iran, urging both sides to prioritize dialogue and diplomacy as the safest path toward lasting agreements that spare the region the repercussions of a new war.

Politically, the “closing statement” of Erdogan’s visit reflected broad alignment on several key issues, most notably Gaza and the Board of Peace. Riyadh and Ankara’s decision to join the board, launched by US President Donald Trump in January, signals a pragmatic choice to act as founding partners shaping the Gaza peace plan’s second phase, rather than limiting their role to oversight. This coordination helps safeguard Arab and Islamic principles, foremost the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, while supporting constructive engagement in international initiatives to ensure reconstruction and protect civilians.

Regarding the security and stability of Syria, where both countries maintain good relations with the new authorities, both sides stressed the need to preserve the country’s territorial unity and support the “independent national committee.”

Saudi-Turkish cooperation on Syria can help curb attempts to divide the country, while providing the political and financial backing needed to rebuild state institutions and prevent Syria from once again becoming a haven for terrorist groups. It also encourages the new authorities to take more decisive steps toward building an inclusive national state in which all Syrians participate, regardless of ethnic or sectarian affiliation. Without stability and genuine participation, Syria risks becoming a failed state and an increasing burden on its neighbors — an outcome that would carry a heavy regional cost, undermine peace and give Israel further incentives to entrench its hold over the territories it occupies and exploit an atmosphere of fear and chaos.

The Iranian issue has pushed Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to work to reduce the likelihood of escalation

Hassan Al-Mustafa

The Iranian issue — now more urgent amid a heightened risk of military action against Tehran — has pushed Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to work to reduce the likelihood of escalation. This is not because they agree with Iran’s foreign policy but because both countries recognize the severe consequences of a military confrontation and favor diplomacy and sustained dialogue between Tehran and Washington to reach a lasting agreement. Any deal should curb Iran’s destabilizing activities, ensure the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and remove any pretexts Israel might use to pursue a war from which it would seek to benefit.

The Saudi-Turkish summit struck a tone of dialogue and pragmatism, with Erdogan expressing his country’s readiness to play a facilitating role in easing tensions between Tehran and Washington. Riyadh, for its part, maintained its approach of managing relations with Tehran through diplomatic channels, while stressing its rejection of any interference that violates the sovereignty of neighboring states and its commitment to the framework of the Beijing Agreement signed in 2023.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Erdogan stressed that “our aim is not to manage conflict but to jointly strengthen the diplomatic groundwork that will prevent it from arising in the first place.” He added that Turkiye’s relationship with Saudi Arabia “carries a strategic significance for the peace, stability and prosperity of our region as a whole.”

Overall, Riyadh and Ankara appear to be working to build a regional safety net rooted in cooperation among the region’s states, reducing disputes and harmful competition, making development a shared priority, and treating economic integration as a foundation for stronger, more stable countries. In this context, security is the prerequisite — and that is precisely what both sides are pushing to strengthen.

• Hassan Al-Mustafa is a Saudi writer and researcher interested in Islamic movements, the development of religious discourse, and the relationship between GCC states and Iran. X: @Halmustafa