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  • Analysis
  • The Saudi-Turkish Pragmatic Realignment

    External Publication

    February 18, 2026

    John Calabrese
    John Calabrese

    Governance, Reform, and State Capacity, Saudi Arabia

    When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Riyadh on February 3, it capped a carefully choreographed reconciliation reshaping the Middle East’s geopolitical landscape. Talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signaled not just a bilateral reset but the emergence of a pragmatic regional order grounded in economic complementarity, defense cooperation, and shared anxieties about instability.

     

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    Photo by TUR Presidency/Mustafa Kamaci/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images


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