Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday began a key visit to the Gulf region aimed at defusing the standoff with Qatar, saying no one had an interest in prolonging the crisis.
Erdogan had talks in Jeddah Sunday with King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz who hailed the Turkish leader’s “efforts in the fight against terrorism and its financing,” Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Erdogan is scheduled to fly to Kuwait later Sunday before heading to Qatar on Monday for his first face-to-face talks with Emir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani since the crisis began.
“No one has any interest in prolonging this crisis any more,” Erdogan said in Istanbul before leaving on the two-day trip.
He accused “enemies” of seeking to “fire up tensions between brothers” in the region.
“I hope our visit will be beneficial for the region,” he said.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar for Doha’s backing to extremism and fostering ties with regional rival Iran.
Crucially, Turkey is in the throes of setting up a military base in Qatar, its only such outpost in the region. It has expedited the process since the crisis began and reportedly now has 150 troops at the base.
“From the first moments of the Qatar crisis, we have been on the side of peace, stability, solidarity and dialogue,” said Erdogan.
But Turkey, which is also going through a turbulent time with the European Union and the United States, also does not want to wreck its own relations with regional kingpin Saudi Arabia.
As well as meeting King Salman, Erdogan was also to hold talks with Mohammed bin Salman.
“As the elder statesman in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has a big role to play in solving the crisis,” said Erdogan.
Erdogan said he supported the mediation efforts of Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, a possible indication Ankara sees Kuwait as the key to solving the crisis.
The Qatari emir said Friday he was ready for talks to resolve the row.
His call received a cold reception from the UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, who said he hoped the emir had pledged to reconsider Qatar’s position.
“Dialogue is necessary, but it should be based on a revision” of Qatar’s stance, he tweeted.
Erdogan’s tour coincides with a visit to Kuwait by the EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, who held talks Sunday with Kuwaiti officials.
A statement said Mogherini paid tribute to Kuwait’s “relentless mediation efforts” in the dispute and called for a resolution “through dialogue and without delay”.
