Turkey, Qatari defense ministers to meet amid Gulf crisis

ANKARA

Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed el-Atiye will come to Ankara on June 29 in order to meet his Turkish counterpart Fikri Işık, amid ongoing crisis between his country and the Saudi Arabia-led Arab Gulf states, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on June 28. 

The visit comes as the military cooperation between Ankara and Doha intensifies, with the former set to establish a military base in Qatari territory. A list of demands submitted to Qatar by its Arab neighbors includes a demand to immediately shut down the Turkish military base and remove Turkish troops deployed to the Gulf country. 

Turkey currently has more than 100 troops and armored vehicles in Qatar, in line with a bilateral military agreement that envisages the deployment of 3,000 troops as well as naval and aerial vehicles. 

Ankara has said the request to close its base in Qatar is “against international laws,” calling on Saudi Arabia to respect the Ankara-Doha deal. 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5 and submitted a 13-article list of demands for the normalization of ties.