Apr 29 2021 03:55 Gmt+3 Last Updated On: Apr 29 2021 03:58 Gmt+3 Turkey’s efforts to repair regional relations have been met with widespread mistrust, according to Spyridon Plakoudas, an assistant professor of homeland security at Rabdan Academy in Abu Dhabi. Turkish officials have sought to play down tensions with a host of countries in recent months, including Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Writing for Gulf News, Plakoudas said the Turkish charm offensive aimed to disrupt regional initiatives against Ankara’s increasingly assertive stance in the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean. In February, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates held the first meeting of the Philia Forum of Mediterranean countries, to the exclusion of Turkey.