Reports Suggest Saudi Arabia Will Finance Turkish AKP Ruling Party in Election

One noted professor suggests that Saudi officials are forging a short-term alliance with their erstwhile rival and nemesis, President Erdoğan.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party. Photo courtesy: ibtimes.co.uk

(ANKARA / SALEM, Ore.) - The Israeli Intelligence news outlet Debka claimed the Saudi officials purportedly vowed to Ankara that the oil-rich Kingdom shall supply munificent financial support to President Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party(AK PARTİ) in the early parliamentary election, due to be held on Nov 1.

Once being boasted for its dazzling popularity among Turkish middle-class, AKP dominance in the Turkish political arena began to wane following the onset of the al Qaida-inspired rebellion in neighboring Syria and Turkish support for radical terrorist groups, plunging Turkey back to the 1980s deadly ethnic war with Kurdish cessationists PKK militants.

According to Debka's well-informed sources, the Saudi ambassador to Ankara, Mr. Adel Serajedin Merdad has allegedly met with Turkish Premier Davutoğlu where the latter promised the Turkish official that Saudi Arabia will pay Erdoğan's election campaign with $17 billion in grants and support his bid to crush Turkish judiciary.

Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East politics and international relations at the London School of Economics, believes Saudi officials seek to forge a short-term alliance with their erstwhile rival and nemesis, President Erdoğan, vying to shift the balance of power in Syria amid Moscow's military intervention.

Emboldened by Russia's much-needed military support, Syria's President Assad is gaining ground.

U.S.-Saudi-Turkish so-called moderate rebels.

President Erdoğan called for snap election as his party lost the majority of seats in the Parliament and abjectly failed to persuade the opponent factions to form a coalition government.

According to recent polls, Erdoğan's Islamic-rooted AKP's popularity has slumped 17.4 % to a record low over the past year due to a staggering rise of inflation and terrorists attacks, namely Turkey's deadliest terrorist attack which hit Ankara's train station last week, killing and injuring dozens.