|
Ankara: Prince Saud Al Faisal, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister met with his Turkish counterpart yesterday for talks likely to involve the Lebanon crisis, a day after the Saudi King lashed out at Israel for its attacks against Lebanon.
The meeting was held on the second day of King Abdullah's visit to Turkey, the first visit by a Saudi monarch to the Turkish state in 40 years and a sign of warming ties between the two countries.
"Perhaps the biggest proof of how our world is full of danger is the Israeli aggression that brotherly Lebanon is subjected to these days," Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz said on Tuesday night at a banquet hosted in his honour by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer.
"Members of the international community must engage in policies that are adventure-free, balanced and farsighted," he added.
King Abdullah was scheduled to fly to Istanbul later yesterday for meetings with businessmen and a tour of historical sites in the city.
The visit comes as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party has roots in Turkey's Islamic movement, is cultivating ties with the Islamic world and the Middle East.
King Abdullah met with Erdogan on Tuesday shortly after his arrival and held discussed with him.
The last visit of a Saudi monarch to Turkey was 40 years ago, when the late King Faisal visited for a summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
In an earlier interview, Prince Saud said Saudi Arabia and Turkey a candidate for EU membership could become strategic partners, adding that Turkey's membership in the bloc would contribute to the region's problems being understood by the West.
|
