DOHA – The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Doha on Monday and was greeted by Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim, at his aeroplane ahead of talks on the Gulf dispute.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Doha after meeting Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Sunday for talks Mr Erdogan said were aimed at helping find a resolution to the Qatar crisis.
The dispute, which erupted last month has two of Ankara’s increasingly important economic partners, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, boycotting its closest strategic partner in the region, Qatar.
Erdogan travelled to Qatar on Monday for talks with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who has said Qatar is open to dialogue so long as it respects his country’s sovereignty.
He earlier met with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, which leads an anti-Qatar bloc that includes the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, before holding talks with the emir of Kuwait.
The quartet cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar in early June, accusing it of supporting extremists. Qatar strongly denies the allegation and sees the dispute as politically motivated.
Erdogan’s Gulf trip follows visits aimed at defusing the crisis by the top diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States, underscoring the depth of concern the crisis is causing well beyond the region.
Turkey has built increasingly close ties with Qatar in recent years, including opening its first military base in the Persian Gulf there last year.
New Turkish troops have arrived since the Gulf rift erupted, raising fears of an escalation with the countries seeking to isolate it. The anti-Qatar quartet included expelling the Turkish troops as one of its list of demands to resolve the dispute.
