Turkish FM to meet Saudi king for talks over Qatar crisis

QATAR/KUWAITI

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Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will visit Mecca on June 16 and meet Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud as part of Turkey’s efforts to calm down the ongoing crisis between Qatar and other Gulf countries. 

Çavuşoğlu will share “Turkey’s sincere opinion” regarding the crisis during his visit to Mecca, he said in Kuwait on June 16 after talks in Qatar on June 15.

“Saudi Arabia is really the big brother of the Gulf region, the most important country.  Its role for the stability of the region and for peace and security is very important. We attach great importance to our relations with Saudi Arabia and with all the Gulf countries. The stability and security of the region is important to us for our own safety and stability. This is not a slogan, it is reality,” he said. 

Elaborating on his talks in Qatar, Çavuşoğlu said morale within the administration and within the people was fine. “There are some measures imposed against Qatar. They want to learn about the reasons and content of these measures in order to restore them,” he added. 

The crisis between Qatar and some Arab countries should be resolved “through peace and dialogue,” Çavuşoğlu had previously said on June 14.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency during a visit to Qatar’s capital, Doha, amid the bitter ongoing diplomatic row in the Gulf region, Çavuşoğlu said Ankara’s efforts so far and the future steps to be taken were discussed during his meetings with several top Qatari officials.

Accompanied by Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Çavuşoğlu met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani.

“The situation we have been going through during this [holy month of] Ramadan is really undesirable. There is such a crisis between brotherly countries and there are some steps that directly affect people. We must absolutely overcome it. We need to overcome it through peace and dialogue,” he said.

Last week, five Arab countries – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen – cut off ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Qatar, for its part, has denied the accusations, calling the moves to diplomatically isolate it “unjustified.”

Ankara has said that it stands with the tiny Gulf state against the sanctions and has urged Riyadh to take the lead in finding a solution to the crisis.