Al Jazeera admits no progress after Turkish mediation tour

CAIRO – 24 July 2017: Qatar’s Al-Jazeera network admitted in a report Monday that the Turkish mediation to ease the Qatari rift with four Arab countries was not successful, citing unpromising body language.

Turkey, which has voiced a “neutral stance” in official statements about the Qatari rift with four Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain) decided to wade into the diplomatic crisis with a regional tour.

Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan started his tour Sunday heading to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, aiming to ease the impasse that started on June 5, when a number of countries declared cutting ties and transport links with Doha.



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Starting his tour with a meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdel Aziz, a rather “stiff body language” between both leaders was witnessed and cited in a video report on the visit by Al-Jazeera network.

The report said "observers were not predicting any breakthrough in the crisis," as Erdogan’s posture was very stable to match the king’s.

Erdogan left Qatar on Monday after two days in the Gulf trying to mediate the worst row among Arab states for years, but there was no sign he had made any progress.

Turkey has been Qatar's most powerful ally in the dispute, rushing through legislation to send more troops to its base in Doha as a sign of support.

Kuwaiti and Western efforts to end the crisis have yielded little so far. The four Arab states want Qatar to reduce ties with their arch-foe Iran, close down the Turkish military base and shut down the Al Jazeera TV channel, which they view as critical of their governments.

Several contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armored vehicles have arrived in Doha since the crisis erupted on June 5.

Under a 2014 agreement, Ankara could send in as many as 1,000 troops.