Normalization is in the air in the Middle East – not only in relation to Israel and its Arab partners, but also in relation to other countries that were at loggerheads not so long ago.

The Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman is currently touring the region.

After stops in Cairo and Amman, where he promised investments worth billions, he arrived in Ankara on Wednesday.

Christian Meier

Political correspondent for the Middle East and Northeast Africa.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said the talks with Saudi Arabia's de facto leader should help take bilateral ties to a "much higher level".

A senior Turkish official told Reuters news agency that Ankara hopes for "full normalization and a return to the pre-crisis situation".

This was in reference to the high tensions that existed between the two countries until recently.

They date back to the “Arab Spring” period, but intensified after a Saudi commando brutally murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in autumn 2018.

Prince Muhammad, in the opinion of many of those who commissioned the campaign, was persona non grata for a while, and current American President Joe Biden even described him as a “pariah” in 2019.

Now, however, Biden also wants to travel to Saudi Arabia and meet the heir to the throne - in view of the Ukraine war, the West needs Riyadh's support.

Erdogan showed him how in April, when he visited the kingdom for the first time in five years and publicly hugged the crown prince there.

Shortly before, the Khashoggi trial in Turkey had been handed over to the Saudi authorities.

The trip and now Prince Muhammad's return visit are part of a Turkish charm offensive.

The country remains mired in a severe economic crisis that Saudi investment could help.

In addition, Erdogan has recognized that he has maneuvered himself into a dead end with his aggressive policy.

So he is trying to improve strained relations with other countries as well: the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Israel.

Speculations about air defense pact against Iran

This Thursday, Israeli Foreign Minister Jair Lapid wants to meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, regardless of the government crisis at home - this is also a reply to a Turkish visit a few weeks ago.

Previously, Erdogan had openly courted Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog for months until he finally gave in.

In March, Herzog was received in the presidential palace with pomp and pomp.

Lapid's meeting with Cavusoglu will focus on the issue that has loomed large in all the travel diplomacy these weeks: Iran.

Israel last week warned its citizens not to travel to Turkey following reports of Iranian terrorist cells there targeting Israeli vacationers.

From the Israeli point of view, the danger has by no means been averted, even though the security authorities in both countries appear to be working well together.

This puts Turkey in an awkward position as it wants to maintain its orderly relationship with Tehran.

Israel, meanwhile, is striving to put the anti-Iran alliance on a broader footing.

For months there has been speculation about the establishment of a regional air defense pact to ward off missile and drone attacks from Iran.

At the beginning of the week, Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that he had been working with the US on such a "Middle East Air Defense" alliance (MEAD) for some time.

The program can even be used "and has already made it possible to successfully defend against Iranian attempts to attack Israel and other countries," said Gantz.

He hopes that another step towards regional cooperation can be taken during Biden's visit in mid-July.

However, unlike Israel, the Arab Gulf States are unwilling to escalate their enmity with Iran.