Turkey backs Saudi-led anti-terror bloc

30/12/2015| IslamWeb

Turkey supports a Saudi-led initiative to fight against terrorism and will take part in it, said Turkish foreign minister Tuesday.

Turkey's top diplomat Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir appeared in a joint press conference after talks between Saudi King Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

"As Turkey, we are supporting the Islamic cooperation initiative of Saudi Arabia against terrorism," said Cavusoglu.

He added Turkey will take part in "all steps of this mechanism."

On Dec. 15, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that 34 Muslim countries had agreed to form an "anti-terrorism" alliance to be headquartered in Riyadh.

According to the SPA, the coalition was formed within the framework of a previous anti-terrorism agreement signed by Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states.

Along with Saudi Arabia, the coalition reportedly includes Pakistan, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Turkey, Tunisia, Djibouti, Sudan, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Maldives, Malaysia, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania and Yemen, in addition to 13 African states.
Cavusoglu said: "We will continue to be in solidarity against terrorism and rising Islamophobia."

Al-Jubeir said the two countries will set up a high-level strategic cooperation council to strengthen military and economic cooperation.

PHOTO CAPTION

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan , left, and Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, right, pose for a photo during their meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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