Three-member military committee dispatched to Qatar for preparations of base: Turkish army

ISTANBUL

REUTERS photo

A three-member delegation from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) was dispatched to Qatar on June 12 for preparations to establish a military base in the Gulf country.

The delegation has continued its study on “exploration and coordination” as part of preparations for the deployment, a written statement from the TSK said June 13. 

Turkey is setting up a military base in Qatar, its first such installation in the Middle East.

Turkey’s parliament on June 7 approved legislation permitting its troops to be deployed to the Turkish military base in Qatar amid a diplomatic and trade crisis that Doha has been facing from some of its bigger Middle Eastern neighbors.

Turkey is a key ally of Qatar, which also hosts the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East. The Ankara-Doha military agreement was signed in 2016, but the Turkish parliament ratified the accord as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and imposed sanctions against the Gulf country over accusations that it has links to terrorists and was engaging with Iran.