Turkey said it respected the Saudi court's verdict in the murder case of Jamal Khashoggi in which 8 people were handed between 7 and 20 years jail sentences last year. In an interview with Reuters on Monday, Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman and adviser of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that he welcomed the Khashoggi murder trial in Saudi Arabia. "They had a court. Trials have been held," Kalin said. "They made a decision so we respect that decision." Seeking to mend ties with Saudi Arabia, the spokesman of the Turkish president said: "We will seek ways to repair the relationship with a more positive agenda with Saudi Arabia as well," adding he hoped Saudi popular boycott would end. In another development, Erdogan's spokesman pointed out that the scheduled talks with Egypt next week could forge renewed cooperation between the two countries and help efforts to end the war in Libya. Kalin also said in the interview that intelligence chiefs, as well as foreign ministers of both countries, have been in contact, and a Turkish diplomatic mission will visit Egypt in early May. "Given the realities on the ground I think it's in the interests of both countries and the region to normalize relations with Egypt," he said. Last month, Turkey asked Egyptian opposition television channels operating on its territory to moderate criticism of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Egypt welcomed the move but has been publicly cautious about Turkish calls for better ties between the two countries which have also supported rival sides in Libya's conflict. "Rapprochement with Egypt...will certainly help the security situation in Libya because we fully understand that Egypt has a long border with Libya and that may sometimes pose a security threat for Egypt," Kalin said. — Agencies
