Erdogan meets Kuwaiti, Qatari leaders to defuse Gulf crisis
doha — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Doha on Monday as part of a Gulf tour aimed at defusing a dispute between Qatar and neighbouring Arab states.
Erdogan was greeted by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of Qatar, in Doha ahead of their first face-to-face talks on the Gulf crisis, state news agency QNA reported.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain suspended diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar over allegations that Doha had too close ties with Iran and supported extremist groups.
Erdogan held talks on Sunday in Kuwait, which is leading mediation efforts in the crisis, and Saudi Arabia, where the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz hailed the Turkish leader’s “efforts in the fight against terrorism and its financing”.
Erdogan has voiced support for the mediation efforts of Kuwait, a possible indication Ankara sees Kuwait as the key to resolving the crisis.
Qatar’s Amir on Friday said he was open to talks with the Saudiled bloc on condition the emirate’s “sovereignty” was respected.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Relations Anwar Gargash responded to the Amir’s speech on Twitter saying that while dialogue is necessary, Qatar must review its policies because repeating its previous positions only “deepens the crisis.”
“Dialogue is necessary, but it should be based on a revision” of Qatar’s stance, he tweeted.
Erdogan is the fifth high-level visitor from outside the Gulf to try to resolve the dispute since it erupted on June 5. The top diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States have all been through already, underscoring the depth of concern the crisis is causing well beyond the region.
Erdogan faces a tougher challenge in securing a breakthrough than Turkey’s Nato allies because of the increasingly warm ties, including the deployment of military forces, it has built with Qatar in recent years.
The quartet insisted Qatar accept a tough 13-point list of demands to end the rift, including shutting down news outlets including Al Jazeera, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country.
Turkey and Qatar announced plans to open Turkey’s first military base in the Arabian Gulf in 2015. The base opened last year and new troops have arrived since the Gulf rift erupted, raising fears of an escalation with the countries seeking to isolate it.
Erdogan began his trip in Saudi Arabia. Brief statements of both meetings carried by the official Saudi Press Agency emphasised that the talks focused on ways to counter terrorism in addition to touching on bilateral and regional issues. — AFP, AP