Intel: Why Turkey’s transfer of Muslim bloc leadership to Saudis was so uncomfortable

When two adversaries bump into each other, a common solution is to avoid interaction. But that wasn’t an option for Turkish and Saudi officials this week as Ankara turned over leadership of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to its rival in an unusually frosty handoff.

Why it matters: Heads of state and the governments of dozens of OIC members are attending the 14th summit of the organization in Mecca today. Turkey, however, is being represented by its foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s absence exposes the chill in Saudi-Turkish relations, which hit rock bottom after Saudi Arabia murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi at its consulate last October. Cavusoglu’s visit to Saudi Arabia is the first high-level Turkish visit to the kingdom since then.

Low-key handover: Turkey handed over the OIC chairmanship to Saudi Arabia at the group’s foreign ministers conference on Wednesday instead of at today's more prominent gathering.