Saudi Arabia asks citizens to boycott everything Turkish

(REUTERS): Saudi authorities called upon citizens to boycott everything Turkish, including imports, investment, and tourism following a statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Turkish President, during an address to the country’s General Assembly on Saturday, had accused some Gulf countries of pursuing policies that were destabilising the region.

Erdogan further said, “It should not be forgotten that the countries in question did not exist yesterday, and probably will not exist tomorrow; however, we will continue to keep our flag flying in this region forever.”

Saudi Arabia’s Chamber of Commerce head Ajlan Al Ajlan, in a Tweet, said, “ The boycott of everything Turkish, whether on the level of import, investment or tourism, is the responsibility of every Saudi — trader and consumer — in response to the continued hostility of the Turkish government against our leadership, our country and our citizens.”

Both countries have been at loggerheads since the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi that took place in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

Erdogan had asserted that the order to murder Khashoggi came from ‘the highest levels’ of the Saudi government, but has never directly blamed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Earlier this week, Turkey indicted six Saudi suspects in Khashoggi’s murder case. None of the suspects are in Turkey and will be tried in absentia. Twenty Saudi nationals are already on trial in an Istanbul court for Khashoggi’s killing.

The indictment came weeks after a Saudi court overturned five death sentences issued after a closed-door trial in Saudi Arabia that ended last year, sentencing them to 20 years in prison instead.