Turkey's Erdoğan talks Qatar with emir, French president

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

In a phone call on June 16 with Qatari and French leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urged dialogue to help resolve the Gulf crisis over Qatar, according to a presidential source.

In a trilateral conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and French President Emmanuel Macron, Erdoğan brought up recent issues in the Gulf, said the source.

The three exchanged views on the Qatar crisis with a view to immediately ease tension in the region, the source added.

The leaders reportedly stressed that only dialogue and negotiations will resolve the current tension, and called for support for efforts towards this end.

On June 5, five Arab countries -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Yemen -- abruptly cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Qatar denied the accusations, calling the moves to isolate it diplomatically "unjustified”.