ANKARA – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan senior advisor lashes out atSaudi Arabia over prefering Muslims against Non Muslims.
A senior adviser to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticizedSaudi Arabia on Thursday for “favoring the Europeans and non-Muslims” overTurkey and other Muslim countries after the recent visit of the SaudiArabian foreign minister to Cyprus.
“What does the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia benefit from this visit andestablishing this relationship with Southern Cyprus, the Roum (Rum), whichTurkey does not recognize?” Yasin Aktay, a senior adviser to Erdogan andthe Turkish AK Party, asked during an interview on state-broadcaster TRTArabi channel.
“Roum” is a term used by Turks to refer to the people and countries ofGreek Orthodox Christian origins.
“Saudi Arabia should not have recognized this country but as a Muslimcountry and as part of the Organization of Islamic Countries, we werewaiting and wishing for them to recognize the state of Turkish Cyprus(Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) which is a Muslim country. They takethe Europeans, the Roum and the non-Muslims as friends of theirs but aremoving away from Muslims. This is surprising,” he added.
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Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf began an official visit toCyprus on Wednesdaylinkwherehe met with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. They reviewed bilateralrelations, as well as the latest developments at the international level.
Al-Assaf said there’s “high interest” in developing relations “on allfronts” with Cyrpus, given the European Union member country’s geographiclocation and longstanding ties with the Arab world.
