Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will continue to support Qatar in a dispute between Doha and several other Arab countries.
“We will not abandon our Qatari brothers,” Erdogan said at the Turkish parliament on Friday, state Anadolu news agency reported.
Erdogan dismissed a “blacklist” drawn up by the Arab countries opposed to Qatar and targeting certain Qatari-backed organizations as sponsors of terrorism.
“There is no such thing. I know those foundations,” Erdogan said.
Turkey “will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar,” the Turkish president stressed.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, the Maldives, and Egypt broke off ties to Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. They also suspended all land, air, and sea traffic with Qatar, ejected its diplomats, and ordered Qatari citizens to leave their respective countries.
The move is widely believed to have been spearheaded by Saudi Arabia, which often manages to have its vassal states fall into line. Saudi Arabia itself is known as the main sponsor of the violent Wahhabi terrorists that it has accused Qatar of supporting. Some analysts believe the Saudi anger is rather because Qatar acts more independently of Riyadh.
Turkey had initially stayed neutral in the dispute involving Qatar but soon became more assertive in its support for Doha.
On Wednesday, the Turkish parliament ratified a bill to allow the deployment of Turkish troops to a Turkish base in Qatar in what has been interpreted as a sign of support for Doha. Erdogan later approved the legislation, turning it into law.
Source: Press TV
