Analyst: Erdogan has lost confidence in King Salman's grip on power

David Wearing, a lecturer at Royal Holloway University in London, said Erdogan’s frequent mention of King Salman in his speech was a sign that the Turkish president lacks confidence in the ruler's grip on power. 

"Erdogan's repeated mention of having confidence in King Salman says a lot about his viewpoint on who controls Saudi Arabia," Wearing told MEE.

It's no different from when a chairman of a football club says he has complete confidence in the manager. That is usually a sign that he has no confidence

- David Wearing, Royal Holloway University

"It's no different from when a chairman of a football club says he has complete confidence in the manager. That is usually a sign that he has no confidence. This situation is similar to that.

"The fact that he has to say he has confidence in King Salman speaks volumes. Everyone knows who controls Saudi Arabia and it certainly isn't King Salman. It is Mohammed bin Salman."

Commenting on next steps, Wearing said that the renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia had been a long time coming.

Western governements "should have stopped having relations with Saudi Arabia years ago over Yemen. It is certainly not a new issue," he said.

"What the Khashoggi saga has done has crystalised a range of issues and bought them to the fore. The conversation has blown wide open and not just about Khashoggi, but about a lot of issues which makes it really uncomfortable for policymakers and Saudi apologists."