One of the most colorful innovations introduced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his luxurious presidential palace in Ankara is a sophisticated food laboratory with a full-time staff of four professionals who examine the ingredients of the food that the president consumes. It’s not the healthful properties of the food that are their concern, but rather fear that Erdogan, who assumed the presidency in August, could be poisoned.

Erdogan, who was previously his country’s prime minister, is not the only head of state, and certainly not the first, to have his food checked out. The Ottoman sultans who used to rule Turkey and its surrounding empire, employed tasters for that purpose, as do some Arab leaders today. The fact is not publicized, however, and when Erdogan’s personal physician, Dr. Cevdet Erdol, did so this month, there were those in Turkey who saw it as another of the Turkish president’s whims designed to portray him as a leader who is facing danger.

But the threat of poisoning didn’t seem to bother Erdogan much when he visited Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the month. Turkish sources say that the president dined with Saudi King Salman without bothering to have his food checked. What did grab attention, however, particularly in the Egyptian press, was the reception the Saudis afforded Erdogan in comparison with the welcome committee that greeted Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, who was in the country at the same time. The Saudi king received the Egyptian leader in person whereas Erdogan, on his arrival at the airport, was greeted by the local governor and some aides. Clearly the Saudis are able to convey diplomatic messages without being vocal about it.

Nevertheless, the very fact of Erdogan’s visit is a milestone in the foreign relations of the two countries. Unlike Salman’s predecessor, King Abdullah, who viewed Erdogan as a rival and Turkey as a country whose influence and power in the Arab Middle East needed to be reined in, Salman apparently has other ideas. Several Saudi commentators who wrote about the two state visits welcomed Erdogan’s trip to the country and noted that Egypt will not dictate Saudi foreign policy or whether Saudi Arabia advances ties with Turkey or not.

Saudia Arabia under King Salman is hinting, and not so subtly, that it was King Abdullah’s foreign policy that led to the spread of Iranian influence in the region; that Iran, more than Saudi Arabia, is considered an active combatant against the Islamic State, the organization also known as ISIS and ISIL; and that Saudi mishandling of the situation in Yemen brought about the seizure of power in Yemen by the Houthis, who are supported by Iran. Commentators suggest that Saudi Arabia is seeking to establish an anti-Shi’ite and anti-Iranian axis in which Turkey would play a central role. Such an alliance, however, could not exclude Egypt, which is acting in concert with the Saudis and the leaders of the Gulf states to establish a rapid-deployment joint Arab force that would be comprised of 40,000 soldiers.

Turkish-Egyptian reconciliation?

The membership of Turkey in such a force would require reconciliation between that country and Egypt. The subject was discussed at length in the meeting between Erdogan and King Salman, who told the Turkish president that Saudi Arabia wants Egypt and Turkey to reconcile their differences. Erdogan said the Saudis had not pressured Turkey to improve ties with Egypt, adding that Turkish-Saudi relations could not be conducted in the shadow of Turkish-Egyptian relations. Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are the three important countries in the region, Erdogan said.

In contrast with this complimentary characterization of Egypt, however, Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan’s senior adviser, wrote an article in the pro-government Turkish newspaper Daily Sabbah, stating that “the coup in Egypt created deep divisions and tensions in that country.” The use of the term “coup,” in order words, an illegitimate seizure of power, has engendered anger on Egyptian President Sissi’s part since he took power in July 2013.

Ankara’s harsh criticism of Sissi, who replaced the Muslim Brotherhood regime that Turkey supported, was a major cause of the rift between the two countries. The bad blood led to an unofficial Egyptian boycott of Turkish companies and the recalling of both countries’ ambassadors. It is hard to assess whether the Saudi king’s efforts at reconciliation will bear fruit, but the hint has again been conveyed to the Egyptians, who are dependent economically on Saudi Arabia, that their foreign policy cannot be divorced from Saudi aspirations.

Fear of endangering ties with Tehran

In Turkey, too, not everyone is pleased about breaking the ice with Saudi Arabia, particularly over concern that it could lead to rivalry between Iran and Turkey. Leading Turkish journalist Murat Yetkin has called for his country to refrain from unilateral steps that could bring about a confrontation with Iran, adding that a Sunni Arab alliance could harm the delicate and vital ties between the two countries. Yetkin also makes the important argument that any Sunni alliance would ignore the fact that the major campaign in the Middle East at the moment is against extreme Sunni organizations such as ISIS and Al-Qaida.

In that respect, Turkey is playing a multifaceted game. On the one hand, it’s not an official partner in the Western coalition against ISIS, and American aircraft are not allowed to use Turkish air fields on bombing runs against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. On the other hand, days ago, Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz announced that his country has been sending military supplies to Iraq to assist it in the planned recapture of the city of Mosul from jihadist forces. Turkey even announced that it would take in Iraqi civilians seeking shelter when the battle takes place, but it is not participating in the battle directly.

Retired American general John Allen, who is coordinating the coalition forces’ operations against ISIS, visited Turkey several days ago to further the ongoing dialogue over Turkey’s involvement. Although Allen said the dialogue was moving forward, there are as of yet no concrete results to show for it. When it comes to the fighting in Syria, Erdogan is still insisting that any military cooperation with the Western countries be conditioned on the goal being not only the defeat of ISIS but also the removal from power of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Therefore as long as the United States and Western European countries reject such a condition, in part over their view that Assad is a possible partner in the war against ISIS, Turkey has a good excuse to refrain from direct military involvement.

Turkey’s invasion of Syria

At the same time, when it comes to Turkey’s direct interests, the country doesn’t have the same hesitations. Turkey’s invasion of Syrian territory within the past couple of weeks to take control of the tomb of the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman dynasty is an example of this. A 1921 agreement with France provides that the land on which the tomb is situated belongs to Turkey. Ankara carried out the operation to relieve Turkish soldiers guarding the site and to return historic artifacts there to Turkey.

Erdogan’s diplomatic machinations are not divorced from the parliamentary election that is slated in Turkey for the beginning of June. Direct military involvement in the war in Iraq and Syria is not popular among Turks, particularly when Ankara is concerned about an additional wave of Syrian and Iraqi refugees that could flood the country. Turkey is already accommodating 1.5 million refugees, who are the cause of major social and economic tensions. ISIS is not perceived as a direct threat to Turkey, while a Sunni political pact could stir up Turkey’s sizeable 11 million strong Alevi Shi’ite minority, which is not to be confused with Syria’s Alawites.

Last month thousands of Alevis gathered in Istanbul demanding equal religious rights and protesting “the uniform (Sunni) religious character that the Turkish government is seeking to impose.” And then there are Turkey’s Kurds, of whom there are 20 million, whose brethren in Iraq and Syria are fighting ISIS. These are political forces that cannot be riled in the run-up to the election. Add to that the fact that Erdogan is seeking to have his party win more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament so that the constitution can be amended to give Turkey’s president American-style powers.