Turkey throws weight behind Qatar in Gulf showdown
Ankara to deploy extra troops to emirate as Kuwait seeks to broker deal
11 HOURS AGO by: Simeon Kerr in Doha and Laura Pitel in Ankara



Turkey threw its weight behind its ally Qatar on Wednesday, fast-tracking plans to deploy extra Turkish troops to the emirate as Arab rivals cut transport links and supply lines.

The move potentially puts Ankara on a collision course with Riyadh as tensions flare over Saudi-led attempts to isolate Qatarin protest at its alleged support for extremist groups in the Middle East and its softer approach towards Iran.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish president, said it was wrong to impose sanctions on Doha. “It will not contribute to solving any problem to try and isolate in this way Qatar, which we know for sure has fought very effectively against terrorist groups,” he said.

Turkey’s parliament adopted a law on Wednesday night to allow Turkish troops to be stationed on Qatari soil.

Turkish officials were eager to stress that the country wanted to be seen as neutral in the dispute. “We feel Qatar and Saudi Arabia are very close friends and we do not want to differentiate between them and take sides,” said a senior Turkish official. He added, however, that Turkey “will not allow Qatar to be beaten up”.

The showdown with Qatar has created what is arguably the most serious crisis between Gulf nations since Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. The animosity between Saudi Arabia and Iran that partly lies behind it intensified on Wednesday when Iranian hardliners blamed Riyadh for a twin terror attack in Tehran in which 12 people were killed.

After initially lending his backing to Saudi Arabia’s clampdown on Qatar, US President Donald Trump called Tamim bin Hamad, emir of Qatar, on Wednesday to urge a negotiated solution among Gulf countries. Mr Trump offered “to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary”.

Qatari officials have threatened in recent days to quit the six-member Gulf Co-operation Council, the region’s political grouping. Some see Doha forming a new alliance with the similarly pro-Islamist government in Ankara, as well as a closer relationship with Iran.

“Either Qatar makes concessions to bypass this rift, or it escalates,” said Marwa Maziad, a Middle East specialist at the University of Washington. “Qatar might feel cornered and veer closer towards Iran. This is a huge risk which might invite further Saudi escalation.”

Iran and Turkey agreed in 2014 to build a base in Qatar for an estimated 3,000 troops. Around 150 Turkish troops have been stationed in the country since 2015.

A Turkish diplomatic source said the size of any further troop deployment in Qatar, also home to a large US military base, would be small, perhaps “a couple of hundred”.

“God forbid, if anything happened, would that change anything? No. Think about it, the Americans have 10,000 troops in Qatar, does that mean Americans are with the Qataris? No.”

But the deployment could nonetheless quicken this regional realignment as Doha seeks to build new allies against its neighbours’ economic blockade.

Iran and Turkey have already said they would be able to provide practical assistance in Doha’s hour of need. Turkish eggs are on sale in supermarkets since the borders closed with Saudi Arabia, their usual source.

In a sign of the cold war atmosphere taking hold in the Arabian peninsula, the United Arab Emirates threatening prison sentences of up to 15 years for anyone expressing sympathy for Qatar. Members of the UAE’s Islamist opposition, now largely in exile, have been expressing support for Qatar on social media.

Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah, Kuwait’s emir, arrived in Doha on Wednesday evening, after a brief stop for talks in Dubai, as he continued efforts to resolve the dispute.

According to Sultan al-Qassemi, an Emirati commentator, UAE officials are insisting that, before any direct talks can start with Doha, Qatar close its Al Jazeera television network, as well as other Qatari-funded news outlets that have annoyed Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Qatar will probably be asked to expel leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas from Doha, among other measures, he added.

One observer with the ear of the Qataris says they would consider toning down news coverage, expelling some groups from Doha, and look at kracking down harder on sources of extremist financing.

“But there are limits on how far he can go, given the intrusion on sovereignty, which would take away their legitimacy to rule,” he said.

As tensions swirl, Doha has been gripped by fear of military escalation or a Saudi-backed coup against the emir.

“Many Qataris hope this will all be resolved soon,” said another veteran Doha-based analyst. “But deep down in their hearts, they fear it could get worse, not better.”

https://www.ft.com/content/5012668c-...4-c742b9791d43

12 HOURS AGO
Turkish parliament approves troop deployment in Qatar
Turkish parliament approves legislation allowing Turkish troops to be deployed in Qatar.



Turkey's parliament has approved a legislation allowing its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.

The bill, first drafted in May, passed with 240 votes in favour, largely with support from the ruling AK Party and nationalist opposition MHP.

Wednesday's decision is an apparent support for Qatar as it faces diplomatic and trade isolation from some of the biggest Middle Eastern powers.

Turkey is a key ally of Qatar and is setting up a military base in the country which also hosts the largest US air base in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, accusing it with financing extremist groups.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations. It is the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the Arab states' move, saying isolating Qatar and imposing sanctions will not resolve any problems and adding that Ankara will do everything in its power to help end the crisis.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours.

Turkey set up a military base in Qatar, its first such installation in the Middle East, as part of an agreement signed in 2014. In 2016 Ahmet Davutoglu, then Turkish prime minister, visited the base where 150 troops have already been stationed, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.

In an interview with Reuters in late 2015, Ahmet Demirok, Turkey's ambassador to Qatar at the time, said 3,000 ground troops would eventually be deployed at the base, planned to serve primarily as a venue for joint training exercises.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/0...151127104.html