New batch of Turkish troops arrives in Qatar for exercises

Sixth military group, including artillerymen, sent as part of Ankara-Doha deal

stand by those demands.

He said the boycotting states preferred to keep the list of the 13 demands confidential in order not to embarrass the Qatari side.

“We engaged in a confidential manner in passing on their demands. This is the same reason why in 2013 and 2014 the [Riyadh] agreements we signed with Qatar were also kept confidential and secret at the request of the Qatari government. In the spirit of saving face for the Qataris we kept the demands secret,” adding that it was the Qatari side which leaked the list to the media.

He also denied that there was any hacking of Qatari media outlets, as Doha claimed.

Anew batch of Turkish troops has arrived in Qatar for training exercises with local forces as part of an Ankara-Doha deal, according to Turkey’s state-run media.

The sixth military group, including 28 artillerymen in total, arrived in Doha on Wednesday, Anadolu agency reported.

This deployment is in line with the 2015 deal between Ankara and Doha on strengthening military cooperation and was approved by Turkish Parliament on June 7, just two days after the row between Qatar and several Gulf countries.

The Turkish-Qatari joint drills started in Qatar on June 19 when the first group of Turkish troops arrived at the military base. Ankara had been backing Qatar as “a longtime ally,” said Anadolu reports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on July 23-24 to help resolve the diplomatic crisis.

Reuters A tank that arrived with a contingent of Turkish troops being unloaded at the military base in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday. The military exercises began on July 7, after the diplomatic row between Qatar and several Gulf countries erupted.