What happens when colours do not mix?

That is a weird question, it is actually a conundrum and as such we leave it out in the grass. A few hours ago the middle easters eye gives us ‘Saudi Arabia lifts unofficial trade embargo off Turkiye’, a stage and a half as I would think. There we see “That boycott was primarily due to the clash of foreign policy goals between Riyadh and Ankara in the region, with the two backing opposing sides in Libya and disagreeing over the legitimacy of the government in Egypt installed after the 2013 military coup. Turkiye was also pushing to bring to justice those responsible for the murder of exiled Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, in which it maintained that the Saudi government and Crown Prince were involved.” Which was what was expected. Whether it is dialogue, party lines or something else, the language is not a surprise. What was interesting is the article a month ago called ‘Did Turkey bow down to Saudi Arabia?’ (At https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220509-did-turkey-bow-down-to-saudi-arabia/). There we are given “Bilateral relations were also badly strained after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by a Saudi hit squad at the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018. At the time, Erdogan accused the “highest levels” of the Saudi leadership of ordering the murder, but did not name any official”, as well as “Khashoggi’s murder triggered a global outcry against the Kingdom and Bin Salman, who is its de facto ruler. Turkey insisted on seeking justice in Khashoggi’s case and commenced legal proceedings; the CIA accused Bin Salman of ordering the murder. However, no country or international body has taken even a small punitive measure against Saudi Arabia.” Yet this is not quite correct is it? In the first we see “the CIA accused Bin Salman of ordering the murder” which they never did, they stated that it was highly likely (which does not constitute evidence), The UN report is out in the open, so you can check it for yourself. Then we get “no country or international body has taken even a small punitive measure against Saudi Arabia” and there lies the rub. You see if you had properly examined the UN report you would see that there was no evidence and the number one piece of evidence was that the report NEVER gave a proper digital report that the voice was confirmed and without doubt the voice of Jamal Khashoggi. We saw spin after spin, but no one properly digitally examined and tested the tapes. There is even an issue with the full tape, no report gives us any understanding that a tape even existed, merely bytes of audio and those were not properly forensically tested to ascertain the identity of the voices. When you see these two elements in a United Nations report no less, you will start to see what I saw within an hour of that UN report being made public. A hack job and a bad one at that. So after the blunders that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan committed, first with the EU, then with US, then Russia (S-400 missiles) it comes over that he need all the friends he can get and he will do whatever he can to not go under and he does not have that much options or any credibility as I personally see it. So when we see “Erdogan was enthusiastic about the meeting because he sees trade with Saudi Arabia as an important requirement for the revival of Turkey’s economy, and regards Riyadh’s political and diplomatic support as vital ahead of next year’s presidential election. He also knows that the catalyst for his country’s estrangement with the Saudis, the Arab Spring, has ended in all but name.” We need to realise that the only other option is China and China would want assurances, something Turkey has no option or intention to give. Commitment is not high on their calendar. And they need something now, it is not about “the revival of Turkey’s economy” it is about having a longer stand against whatever comes next. And now that Iran overstepped its options in Turkey, Turkey will see Saudi Arabia as the only option and they are not wrong. How this will play out? I cannot tell, it makes sense for Saudi Arabia to allows for trade with Turkey, it makes more sense for them to see all connections that nations have with Iran fade away. 

The media is to some degree monitoring what is happening here, but not to the degree I expected. You see there are a few options opening up for Saudi Arabia, and Turkey has to commit now, or learn that being alone with neighbours they sold short one way or another is not the way to go. For Saudi Arabia and the STC, Turkey is another option to get a true 5G middle east network up and going, optionally 2-3 years ahead of Europe and the US. As such STC could have surprisingly profitable franchises in Egypt and Turkey in the near future, it could set a new premise. It would also be the first time in history where the STC (and Saudi Arabia through it) would reach North Africa and optionally Southern Europe as well. Something that they never did before and that opens up more than Nokia, it speculatively opens up new options for Huawei as well. It is too early for predictions, but the idea that they grow by 50% before 2024 is not out of the question, especially if their foothold in Egypt and Turkey continues. A thought that people would have ridiculed in 2017 is now on the borders of reality. So when do colours not mix? When you never had the right colours in the first place, that is when. A stage we negated for too long a time and now with Turkey it comes to the forefront rather quickly.

613 seconds until Monday morning, enjoy!