Qatar pursues military cooperation with Turkey amid Arab boycott

CAIRO – 5 November 2017: Qatari National Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah met his Turkish counterpart Nurettin Canikli in Doha on Saturday, where the two ministers discussed cooperation opportunities in military and defense.

Earlier this week, the Qatari Health Minister Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari met Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag in the Turkish capital Ankara, where they discussed cooperation in the field of health and medicine as well.

Since Qatar cut ties with Gulf neighbors, Turkey started sending products to Doha, as the country has been facing a shortage of fresh produce, subliminally messaging that Qatar is not alone.

Turkey also has sent forces from a Turkish military base to Qatar, in exchange for economic benefits from Qatar.
On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, hurling allegations that the state supports terrorism. Ports and airspaces were cut off to Qatari vessels. Since then, Kuwait has played the role of mediator to put an end to this rift. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held several meetings with the disputed parties, but the discussions have not yet led to a settlement.

The Arab countries listed 13 demands to be met by Qatar, including severing ties with terrorist groups, closing down the pan-Arab Al-Jazeera satellite channel, downgrading ties with arch-rival Iran and the closure of the Turkish air base in Qatar.

With the passing of nearly five months of the Arab crisis with Doha, the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar insisted on its stubborn policy of strengthening relations with Iran and Turkey.
Qatar ignores the demands set by the Arab countries, which include downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and closing a Turkish airbase in Qatar.