(Hadalsame) 06 August 2019<\/strong><\/span> – In a confidential Emirati document seen by MEE, Mohammed bin Salman’s scheme to confront Erdogan’s government is outlined in full.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia has begun implementing a \u201cstrategic plan\u201d to confront the Turkish government, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman decided he was being \u201ctoo patient\u201d with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n

The plan is detailed in a confidential report based on open- and closed-source intelligence prepared by the kingdom\u2019s ally, the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n

The intelligence report is one of a monthly series written by the Emirates Policy Centre<\/a>, a think tank with close links to the Emirati government and security services.<\/p>\n

Entitled \u201cMonthly Report on Saudi Arabia, Issue 24, May 2019\u201d, the report is of limited circulation and intended for the top Emirati leadership.\u00a0It does not appear on the think tank\u2019s website. A copy has been obtained by Middle East Eye.<\/p>\n

It reveals that in Riyadh\u00a0in May, orders were given to implement the strategic plan to confront the Turkish government.<\/p>\n

The aim of the plan was to use \u201call possible tools to pressure Erdogan\u2019s government, weaken him, and keep him busy with domestic issues in the hope that he will be brought down by the opposition, or occupy him with confronting crisis after crisis, and push him to slip up and make mistakes which the media would surely pick up on\u201d.<\/p>\n

Middle East Eye contacted the Emirates Policy Centre for comment, with no reply by the time of publication.<\/p>\n

Restricting influence<\/h3>\n
Riyadh\u2019s aim is to restrict Erdogan and Turkey\u2019s regional influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kingdom would start to target the Turkish economy and press towards the gradual termination of Saudi investment in Turkey, the gradual decrease of Saudi tourists visiting Turkey while creating alternative destinations for them, decreasing Saudi import of Turkish goods, and most importantly minimising Turkish regional role in Islamic matters,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n
‘Erdogan\u00a0went too far in his campaign smearing the kingdom, especially the person of the crown prince’<\/p>\n
–\u00a0Emirates Policy Centre report<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
According to the report, Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom\u2019s de facto ruler, took the decision to confront Turkey following the assassination of Khashoggi by a team of Saudi agents in their country\u2019s Istanbul consulate.<\/p>\n
The murder of the Saudi journalist, a Middle East Eye and Washington Post columnist, created international outrage, in large part due to Turkey\u2019s insistence on Riyadh providing accountability and transparency over the affair.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Erdogan \u2026 went too far in his campaign smearing the kingdom, especially the person of the crown prince, using\u00a0in the most reprehensible manner the case of Khashoggi,\u201d the reports says<\/p>\n
In the document, the Emirates Policy Centre claims Turkey did not provide \u201cspecific and honest\u201d information to assist the Saudi investigation into the killing, but instead leaked \u201cdisinformation\u201d to the media \u201call aimed at distorting the image of the kingdom and attempting to destroy the reputation of the crown prince\u201d.<\/p>\n
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‘The sacrificial animal’: UN report reveals details of Khashoggi’s final moments<\/div>\n
Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Riyadh had concluded that Erdogan failed in his attempt to politicise and internationalise the case and now was the time to mount the fightback, the report says.<\/p>\n
Both the CIA and leading members of the US Congress have accepted the\u00a0Turkish intelligence assessment of Khashoggi\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
The CIA also concluded that Mohammed bin Salman almost certainly signed off on the operation, an assessment based on its own intelligence as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accepted position is that there is no way this happened without him being aware or involved,\u201d said a US official familiar with the CIA\u2019s conclusions, the Washington Post\u00a0 reported.<\/a><\/p>\n
Since then,\u00a0a report\u00a0<\/a>by United Nations human rights investigator Agnes Callamard\u00a0detailed the difficulties the Turkish authorities had in investigating the murder and gaining access to the consulate building and the home of the consul-general.<\/p>\n
Callamard concluded independently\u00a0that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n
The pressure begins<\/h3>\n
Last week came the first public sign of the campaign detailed in the Emirati document coming to life.<\/p>\n
Saudi authorities blocked 80 Turkish trucks<\/a> transporting textile products and chemicals from entering the kingdom through its Duba port.<\/p>\n
Three hundred containers carrying fruit and vegetables from Turkey had also been held in Jeddah\u2019s port, according to a Turkish official who spoke to MEE on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
The number of Saudi tourists visiting Turkey decreased 15 percent (from 276,000 to 234,000) in the first six months of 2019, according to official data released by the Turkish tourism ministry.<\/p>\n
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A Saudi customer looks at a touristic leaflet brochure about Turkey at a travel agency in the capital Riyadh (AFP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Saudi Arabia has approximately $2bn worth of direct investment in Turkey, according to the Turkish foreign ministry data<\/a> from 2018.<\/p>\n
That year, Turkish exports to Saudi Arabia were valued at around $2.64bn, while imports from the kingdom stood at $2.32bn.<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, other signals have been sent to Ankara.<\/p>\n
The Emirati report says \u201cin a sign that the Saudi leadership has severed its relationship with \u2026 Erdogan and started treating him as an enemy\u201d, King Salman approved \u201cwithout hesitation\u201d a recommendation from an advisory committee not to send an official invitation to attend a high-profile Organisation of Islamic Cooperation <\/a>summit in Mecca.<\/p>\n
The Turkish president\u2019s name was added to the list of those excluded from the summit, alongside Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.<\/p>\n
Eventually, King Salman decided to allow the Qatari emir to attend the event in Mecca, though Erdogan\u2019s invitation was not forthcoming.<\/p>\n
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$\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n
‘Secret embargo’: Saudi Arabia stops Turkish exports from entering kingdom<\/div>\n
Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Turkish government is aware of the Saudi crown prince\u2019s attempts to sever relations and is trying to combat them through keeping direct communications with his father, King Salman.<\/p>\n
A senior Turkish official, speaking anonymously, said the existence of a Saudi strategy to punish Turkey over its stance on the Khashoggi case wasn’t surprising.<\/p>\n
“We are aware of what they are doing. It is almost public, to the extent that you could see their activities on Saudi-backed social media and\u00a0Saudi state media,\u201d the official told MEE, noting that they had openly called for a boycott.<\/p>\n
\u201cTourist arrivals are decreasing, while we are having problems related to Turkish exports. We are closely following the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Turkish official said, however, that Ankara does not believe that Saudi citizens are altering their stance on Turkey, despite the government in Riyadh\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIstanbul, for example, is still full of Saudi tourists. Saudi officials should check the BBC\u2019s poll on Erdogan’s popularity<\/a> in the Middle East. Then they will realise that they are failing,\u201d the official said.<\/p>\n
Erdogan\u00a0phoned the king on Thursday, raising the problem of Turkish exports being held at Saudi ports.<\/p>\n
Another Turkish official, also speaking anonymously, said Erdogan’s phone call with the Saudi king was cordial and focused on regional developments, such as Syria and the Palestine question.<\/p>\n
The official, who was informed about the call, said the king was lucid and supportive of Turkish concerns with regard to Syria.<\/p>\n
In the same call, Erdogan invited King Salman and his family, including the crown prince, to Turkey.<\/p>\n
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.<\/a><\/p>\n
Source:<\/strong> MEE<\/p>\n
Hadalsame Media<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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