ANKARA/JEDDAH: The visit of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to Ankara for the Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit will be a key opportunity for bilateral talks on pressing issues in the region, especially Syria.
This is the view of Younes Demirar, Turkey’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, who told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper during a telephonic interview from Ankara on Sunday that the talks would also focus on terrorism, particularly Daesh.
He said Riyadh and Ankara share the same views on all regional issues, including on Syria and Yemen.
The summit would help the two sides produce a joint strategy on how to deal with challenges in these countries, particularly a political solution for Syria.
Meanwhile, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Maher Onal received at his office here today the Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Toraifi to discuss cultural cooperation between the two countries, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Al-Toraifi had also met with the Deputy Director General of Turkish Television and Broadcasting Corporation Zaki Chivichi and discussed areas of possible cooperation.
Following the meeting, Chivichi honored Al-Toraifi with a memorial shield to mark his visit.
The meeting was attended, on the Saudi side, by Abdulmalik Al-Shalhoub, acting president of the Television and Broadcasting Commission, and Abdulmohsen Elias, undersecretary of the ministry for external information.
Joint Saudi-Turkey action on Syria and Yemen planned
Joint Saudi-Turkey action on Syria and Yemen planned
Palestinians from West Bank arrive at Israeli checkpoints for first Friday prayers of Ramadan
Palestinian worshippers coming from West Bank cities arrived at Israeli checkpoints on Friday hoping to cross to attend first Friday prayers of Ramadan at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Some said they were not allowed to enter and were asked to go back.
Israeli authorities said they would only allow up to 10,000 Palestinian worshippers from the West Bank to attend prayers at al-Aqsa, as security forces stepped up deployments across the city.
Police said preparations for Ramadan had been completed, with large numbers of officers and border police to be deployed in the Old City, around holy sites and along routes used by worshippers.
Israel's COGAT, a military agency that controls access to the West Bank and Gaza, said that entry to Jerusalem from the West Bank would be capped at 10,000 worshippers. Men aged 55 and over and women aged 50 and over will be eligible to enter, along with children up to age 12 accompanied by a first-degree relative, COGAT said.
Al-Aqsa lies at the heart of Jerusalem's old city. It is Islam's third holiest site and known to Jews as Temple Mount.
