Bahrain accuses Qatar of military escalation in Gulf row

RIYADH: Bahrain’s foreign minister accused Qatar on Monday of creating a military escalation in a dispute with regional powers, in an apparent reference to Doha’s decision to let more Turkish troops enter its territory.

Bahrain, alongside Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt imposed a boycott on Qatar three weeks ago, accusing it of backing militants — then issued an ultimatum, including demands that Qatar shut down a Turkish military base in Doha.

Turkey has increased the number of its troops in the base since the crisis erupted.

“The foundation of the dispute with Qatar is diplomatic and security-oriented, never military,” Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s foreign minister, said in a message on Twitter.

“Bringing in foreign armies and their armored vehicles is the military escalation that Qatar has created,” he added, without mentioning Turkey.

“Certain regional powers are mistaken if they think that their intervention will resolve the problem,” Sheikh Khalid said.

In earlier tweets on Sunday, Sheikh Khalid said external interference would not solve the problem.

The four Arab powers’ ultimatum, which also includes demands for the curbing of ties with Iran, appears aimed at dismantling Qatar’s two-decade-old interventionist foreign policy.

Two contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armored vehicles have arrived in Doha since the crisis erupted, along with 100 cargo planes loaded with supplies.

Turkey also rushed through legislation to send more troops to the base days after the sanctions were imposed in a show of support.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif called on Monday for Europe to use its influence to defuse tensions in the Gulf.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has voiced support for Qatar.

In a speech in the German capital, Zarif said the countries that blamed Iran or Qatar for terrorism were trying to avoid taking responsibility for their own failures in addressing the demands of their own people.

Zarif argued for a new regional dialogue forum for the Gulf countries and called for an end to the armaments spiral in the region, which he said influenced some Western countries’ relations with states in the region.

“When foreign policy becomes a commodity, then purchasing military equipment becomes your yardstick for measuring who is a terrorist or who isn’t a terrorist,” he said.

“This reinforces a cognitive disorder in our region that security can be purchased from outside, that security can be purchased by trying to buy more military equipment,” he added. “What is needed in our region is a regional dialogue forum.”