Turkey is set to deploy up to 5,000 of its troops to Qatar to help uphold the security of the entire Gulf region.
The development arose after President Recep Erdogan ratified late Thursday night a legislation providing military training and assistance to Qatar.
“Turkish troops are coming to Qatar for the sake of the security of the entire region,” said Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
The ratification of the legislation followed moves by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, and the Maldives’ to cut diplomatic ties with Doha over the latter’s alleged support of terrorism and extremism.
Erdogan said dialogue remains “the most appropriate way for the Gulf Cooperation Council countries to solve their internal issues”. The Turkish leader also said he admire Qatar’s constructive and cool-headed approach to the crisis.
Meanwhile, al-Thani said his country is not open to any outside interference in its foreign policy. He made the remark following Kuwaiti Emir Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah’s effort to present Qatar a set of Saudi Arabian proposals that seeks to ease tensions.
“No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy. We are not ready to surrender, and we will never be ready to surrender the independence of our foreign policy,” AFP quoted al-Thani as saying.
Photo Credits: BBCI.co.uk
