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Saudi prince calls for boycott of Turkey

The prince of Riyadh is seen refusing to drink coffee offered to him after he learned that it was made in Turkey

May 7, 2019 at 1:34 pm

Saudi Prince Abdullah Bin Sultan Al Saud has called for a boycott of Turkish products until “Ankara reviews its policies with the kingdom”.

Al Saud shared on his Twitter account a video in which Prince Faisal Bin Bandar Bin Abdulaziz, the prince of Riyadh, is seen refusing to drink coffee offered to him after he learned that it was made in Turkey.

“I, as a Saudi citizen, announce today that I will boycott any product made in Turkey or even which passed through Turkish customs until it [Turkey] amends its policy with us… Neither we nor our government needs them and their products,” he said.

Social media users mocked the prince’s call and demanded him to boycott US products instead after what they said was President Donald Trump’s recent insult to the king.

In recent months Trump has repeatedly said he has called on Saudi King Salman and made demands which have been met, weakening the monarch’s position globally. In October last year, Trump said he told the king: “King, we’re protecting you. You might not be there for two weeks without us. You have to pay for your military; you have to pay.”

Ties between Saudi and Turkey became strained in 2013 after Ankara supported the Muslim Brotherhood which was ousted from Egypt in a military coup backed by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Relations felt another blow after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in October last year. Turkey said it had proof that leading figures in the ruling family ordered Khashoggi’s murder.

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