Turkey's Erdogan says he will visit UAE in February

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he plans to pay a return visit to United Arab Emirates in February as two countries move to put years of tense relations behind m.

Abu Dhabi’s powerful crown prince visited Ankara last week, making his first official trip to Turkey since 2012 and highest-level visit by an Emirati official since relations between two countries hit a low.

Erdogan and crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who’s seen as facto leader and force behind UAE’s foreign policy posture, oversaw signing of nearly a dozen cooperation deals during visit, while a top Emirati official said UAE has earmarked $10 billion for investment in Turkey.

Erdogan told a group of journalists on his return from a trip to Turkmenistan late Sunday that crown prince’s visit took place in an “almost family like” environment and hailed visit as a “step that is instrumental in starting a new era between Turkey and United Arab Emirates.”

“God willing, I will make a return visit to UAE in February,” Erdogan told journalists, adding that country’s foreign minister and intelligence chief would travel before him to prepare groundwork. His comments were reported by state-run Anadolu ncy and or media on Monday.

Turkey and UAE found mselves on opposing sides of regional conflicts, including a proxy conflict in Libya and well as as disputes in Gulf and eastern Mediterranean.

At core of ir tensions was Turkey’s support for Muslim Brorhood in region, which UAE and or Arab nations see as a top national security threat that could upend ir hereditary rule and tight grip on decision making.

Ankara, for its part, suspects that UAE backed a network led by a U.S.-based Turkish Muslim cleric which Turkey accuses of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016.

UAE is engd in efforts to recalibrate its foreign policy following an unsuccessful attempt to isolate fellow Gulf state Qatar in 2017.

Turkey is also trying to mend its frayed ties with regional powers, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, after finding itself increasingly isolated internationally.

Erdogan told journalists on board his plane that Turkey plans to mend with or regional powers — including Egypt and Israel — in same way that it is with UAE, and would reappoint ambassadors to those countries.