Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman on April 28, 2022, after arriving for the first high-level visit in years.

READ MORE: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan went to Saudi Arabia Thursday for a two-day visit aimed at easing old tensions between Ankara and Riyadh.

The Turkish leader’s visit with the Saudi king comes after years of rivalry between their once-close countries.

Mehmet Ogutcu is the head of the London Energy Club, a grouping of government and energy sector leaders. Ogutcu says the visit is the culmination of intense international diplomacy.

“President Erdogan has good relations with the king; with the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, we had serious difficulties," Ogutcu said.

"Now it looks that I believe the (Britons), and Americans, and the Qataris of course played some role, even the Azeris might have done this,” he said. “And things are changing and relaxing a bit more, and now at the presidential level, it's going to be sealed.”

Erdogan and the crown prince have been bitter rivals. The Turkish president led international condemnation over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul.

The killing was linked to the crown prince, a charge he denied. But the decision earlier this month to move the Khashoggi murder trial from Istanbul to Riyadh is seen as a gesture by Ankara, opening the way for Erdogan's visit.

Ogutcu says with presidential elections due next year, Erdogan is looking for Saudi help to bail out the ailing Turkish economy.

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