Erdogan says prolonging Gulf crisis ‘not in anyone’s interest’

ISTANBUL: Prolonging the crisis in the Gulf sparked by the isolation of Qatar is not in the interest of anyone, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday as he embarked on a key visit to the region.

“No- one has any interest in prolonging this crisis any more,” said Erdogan before leaving Istanbul airport on the twoday trip that will take him to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and then Qatar.

He accused “enemies” of seeking to “fire up tensions between brothers” in the region.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rival Iran. Doha denies the claim and has been strongly backed by Ankara throughout the standoff.

The crisis with Qatar has put Turkey in a delicate position and Erdogan has repeatedly said he wants to see the end of the dispute as soon as possible.

Over the last years, Qatar has emerged as Turkey’s number one ally in the Middle East, with Ankara and Doha closely coordinating their positions on a number of issues including the Syria conflict where both are staunch foes of President Bashar al-Assad.

Crucially, Turkey is in the throes of setting up a military base in Qatar, its only such outpost in the region. It has sped up the process since the crisis began and reportedly now has 150 troops at the base. — AFP