Riyadh - (dpa) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in the Kingdom on his first visit after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, received, at the Peace Palace in Jeddah, on Thursday night, Friday, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. At the Riyadh Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

And the Saudi Press Agency, "SPA", stated: "An official reception ceremony was held for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where the national anthems of the two countries were played.

After that, the Saudi Crown Prince held a meeting with the Turkish President, during which they reviewed opportunities to develop relations between Riyadh and Ankara in various fields.

The two sides also discussed "developments in the regional and international situation and the efforts exerted in this regard."

Erdogan arrived in Jeddah on Thursday evening on a visit to the Kingdom, his first since 2018, specifically since the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Riyadh consulate in Istanbul.

The Turkish president's office had announced that Erdogan would travel to Saudi Arabia, on a two-day visit, as a culmination of Ankara's months-long efforts to mend relations with Riyadh.

The Turkish presidency said that Erdogan will discuss in meetings, during the visit, Ankara's relations with the Kingdom, as well as ways to increase cooperation.
Over the past weeks, the Turkish president has stressed his country's desire to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia.

Last February, Erdogan said in a press statement, "We want to strengthen our relations with Saudi Arabia as well, and we want to advance our positive dialogue with it with concrete steps in the coming period."

Turkey had started a trial in absentia in July 2020 against 26 Saudis suspected of involvement in Khashoggi's murder, but it transferred the file on April 7 to Saudi Arabia, which angered human rights organizations.

The Saudi journalist and writer for the Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi, was killed at the age of 59 on October 2, 2018, when he came to request a document necessary to contract his marriage, according to Turkey.
In September 2020, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced the issuance of final rulings against those accused of Khashoggi’s murder, and the closure of the case, both public and private, as the prosecution stated, in a statement, that final rulings had been issued against eight convicts in the case, pointing out that “the right in the Khashoggi case ended with a waiver.” legitimacy of the deceased's family.