 |
| Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during Erdogan’s official visit in Jeddah. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at defusing the standoff around Turkey’s ally Qatar, saying no-one had an interest in prolonging the crisis. |
Erdogan will first meet the Saudi leadership in Jeddah before moving on
to Kuwait and then visiting Qatar on Monday for his first face-to-face talks
with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani since the crisis began.
"No one has any interest in prolonging this crisis anymore,"
said Erdogan at Istanbul airport before leaving on the two-day trip.
He accused "enemies" of seeking to "fire up tensions
between brothers" in the region.
Erdogan praised Qatar's behaviour in the crisis, saying it had sought to
find a solution through dialogue. "I hope our visit will be beneficial for
the region," he said.
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, it’s 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.
"From the first moments of the Qatar crisis, we have been on the
side of peace, stability, solidarity and dialogue," said Erdogan.
- Saudi has big role -
But Turkey, which is also going through a turbulent time with the
European Union and the United States, also does not want to wreck its own
relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia.
As well as meeting King Salman, Erdogan is also due to meet his son
Mohammed bin Salman for the first time since he was elevated to the role of
crown prince and his father's heir in a dramatic June reshuffle of the royal
house.
"As the elder statesman in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has a big
role to play in solving the crisis," said Erdogan, taking care not to
explicitly criticise the kingdom.
Erdogan said he supported the mediation efforts of Kuwait's Emir Sheikh
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a possible indication Ankara sees Kuwait as the key to
solving the crisis.
The Qatar emir said Friday he was ready for talks to resolve the crisis
so long as the emirate's sovereignty is respected.
Erdogan is likely to get a warm welcome in Doha where Turkey has been
loudly applauded for sending in food, including fruit, dairy and poultry
products by ship and by plane to help Doha beat an embargo.
Turkey has also benefited, with its exports
to Qatar doubling in the last month to over $50 million. According to the
economy ministry, Ankara has sent some 200 cargo planes filled with aid since
the crisis began.
Comments
Post a Comment