Erdogan vows to keep supporting Qatar
10 Jun 2017 - 8:19
Turkish President and the leader of the Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during an Iftar (fast-breaking) dinner event that organized by his party's Istanbul Province Branch within Muslims' holy month of Istanbul in Yenikapi neighborhood of Fatih District of Istanbul, Turkey on June 09, 2017. ( Yasin Bulbul / Anadolu Agency )
QNA & AFP
Ankara : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday stressed that his country continues to provide all kinds of support to the State of Qatar, saying "There are those who are uncomfortable with us standing by our Qatari brothers, providing them with food. I'm sorry, we will continue to give Qatar every kind of support."
Erdogan's remarks came at Iftar banquet of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) office in Istanbul.
Commenting on US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's call for easing the blockade on Qatar, President Erdogan said "I say it should be lifted completely".
Turkey's president also called on Saudi Arabia to work on uniting the Arab Gulf States.
He said he has never known Qatar to give support to terror organisations, a charge made by Saudi Arabia and its allies.
While maintaining good relations with the Gulf states, Turkey has vowed to continue to back its close ties with Qatar, which Erdogan again defended yesterday. "They declare foundations established to provide different services as terror organisations. Something like this should not happen. I know those foundations. Until today I have not witnessed Qatar give support to terror," Erdogan said in Istanbul.
The Turkish leader called for the "blockade" against Doha to be "completely lifted", urging Saudi Arabia to show leadership and encourage good relations in the region.
"I have a request to the Saudi administration: you are the biggest in the Gulf, the strongest... not with hostilities, you should be the leader of fraternity there, you should bring everyone together," Erdogan said.
He also ratified a bill approved by Turkish lawmakers on Wednesday to deploy troops to a Turkish base in Qatar in a move seen as Ankara's show of support for Doha.
Erdogan defended the action, asking "our friends" in the Gulf: "Why does the American base not discomfort you? There are other countries' bases too, why doesn't it discomfort you?"
He was referring to the enormous Al-Udeid airbase, the United States' biggest in the Middle East which is home to some 10,000 US troops. It is a crucial hub for US military operations in the Middle East, especially the battle against the Islamic State group. Erdogan said Turkey would continue to help Qatar such as exporting food and medicine to them. "Sorry, but we will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar," he said.
http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/10/06/2017/Erdogan-vows-to-keep-supporting-Qatar
Pakistan to send soldiers to Qatar!
SAM Report, June 10, 2017
Pakistan government has decided to send the military contingent to Qatar after a similar decision was made by Turkey.
According to a report by Middle East Observer quoting Turkey’s state-owned media group, TRT’s Urdu portal, Pakistan is expected to send more than 20,000 soldiers to Qatar.
According to the report, on June 9, a bill tabled in National Assembly of Pakistan to send 20,000 troops to Qatar. After passing the bill in National Assembly, Pakistan urged both groups will find a solution through dialogue.
However, many observers cast doubt on whether Pakistan would take a side in the Saudi-Qatar conflict by sending troops to Qatar, said the
defence.pk.
It is still not clear that the decision would impact Pakistan’s role in Saudi Arabia-led military alliance, headed by the retired Chief of Army Staff Gen (retd.) Raheel Sharif.
During last two weeks many Pakistani media reported that Raheel Sharif was unhappy with the alliance being wrongly used against Iran and other Muslim countries rather than serving its core purpose.
He is expected to resign from the post he took or is going to take, soon and would return to Pakistan.
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif faced ever so cold and rude behavior of our so-called Muslim brother country, Saudi Arabia, during his latest visit during the US-Muslim summit.
He was treated as ‘nobody’ and wasn’t allowed to speak to the Summit, for which he had reportedly practiced for over six hours.
Pak PM plans to visit Qatar
Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was expected to fly to Qatar, Kuwait to help resolve Gulf crisis, from Astana, Kazakhstan, where he was attending a two-day meeting of the Heads of State Council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), ended on Friday (9 June).
“Since Pakistan enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, we will try our best to resolve the differences between the Arab countries,” Sharif said while speaking to journalists.
The premier said the Muslim world should play its role in ending the diplomatic crisis in the Arabian Gulf, according to
The Express Tribune.
Turkey to deploy troop to Qatar
Earlier on 8 June, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar and training the Gulf nation’s gendarmerie.
Turkey’s parliament had ratified the decision of sending troops to the region, within the framework of the military base agreement which was agreed to by Qatar and Turkey in 2014, and was signed in 2015.
Turkey’s decision is a show of support for Qatar as it faces diplomatic and trade isolation from some of the biggest Middle Eastern powers, according to
aljazeera.com.
Turkey is a key ally of Qatar and is setting up a military base in the country which also hosts the largest US airbase 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. This is the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.
Turkish President Recep 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.
http://southasianmonitor.com/2017/06/10/pakistan-send-soldiers-qatar/
