Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Photo: COURTESY
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia wants to buy military drones from Turkey.
According to Al-Jazeera, the incident is expected to unveil a new dimension to the relationship between the two rival regional powers.
Relations between Ankara and Riyadh have been strained since the 2016 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia's call for an unofficial boycott of Turkish goods has already strained bilateral trade, although both countries have said they will work to improve relations.
Speaking on Tuesday, Erdogan expressed dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia's decision to conduct joint air drills with Turkey's long-time rival Greece.
"Saudi Arabia is conducting joint exercises with Greece and at the same time wants to buy military drones from us," he said. Our hope is a peaceful solution to this issue. "
Turkey has emerged as one of the world's leading manufacturers of military drones. These drones helped Turkey's ally Azerbaijan in a six-week war with Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region last year.
These Turkish drones have also been deployed in the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Libya.
Riyadh already has a technology exchange agreement with Turkey's private Vestel Company, which allows Saudi Arabia to build its own military drones.
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