Arab Demands to Close Turkish Base in Qatar Dismissed

Demands by some Persian Gulf Arab states that which include the closure of a Turkish military base in Qatar are “unacceptable” Ankara’s foreign minister said on Friday. “A solution could come in the medium term,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told an Ankara news conference, speaking alongside his visiting Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani, Anadolu reported. Since June 5, Qatar has been under a blockade by several Arab countries —including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen— accusing Doha of supporting terrorism. The Qatari government has denied all the accusations, blasting the blockade as “unjustified” and a violation of international law. Regarding demands for the closure of the Turkish military base in the tiny emirate, Cavusoglu said: “There is no such dispute with Americans, nor do they object to it. This is a deal between two sovereign countries. The Arab states’ demands violate sovereignty.” He described a recent Qatari deal with the US as “prudential” and said “it shows that they are open to dialogue”. Qatar and the US signed a deal to combat the financing of terrorism, during a visit to Doha by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday, a move that comes as the Arab crisis continues in the region.