Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince May Meet Upon Riyadh's Request - Foreign Minister

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman may take place if requested by the Saudi side, the foreign minister told the CNN Turk broadcaster Friday.

"There are no obstacles for our president to meet with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. If the Saudi side approaches us with such an initiative, the meeting may take place. Of course, the president has the final word," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

READ MORE: Saudi Crown Prince Begins Foreign Trip Amid Global Outcry Over Khashoggi Murder

The statement comes after Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday that such meeting could take place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, which will be held on November 30 and December 1.

Turkey’s relations with Saudi Arabia have become strained after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known journalist and critic of the Saudi government.

Khashoggi went missing after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. After weeks of denials, the Saudi prosecutors acknowledged that the US-based Washington Post columnist had been killed inside the diplomatic mission.