The king told President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday that he backed Turkey’s right to self-defence, the official Saudi Press Agency said.
Erdogan had telephoned Salman to brief him on the air strikes it launched last week after a deadly bombing inside Turkey blamed on IS and a reprisal killing of police by Kurdish militants.
The king condemned the attacks and said he “supports Turkey’s right to defend itself and protect its citizens from terrorist acts” which pose a threat to the security of the region and the world, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia is part of a US-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria since last September.
But Turkey had previously stood aloof, prompting accusations — strongly denied by Ankara — of complicity with the jihadists.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia have had strained relations since 2013 when Riyadh supported the overthrow by the Egyptian army of Ankara-backed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
But SPA said the two leaders “emphasised the excellent relations” between their countries in their telephone call.
