Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday rejected a demand by major Arab states to remove Turkish troops from Qatar, saying their sweeping list of ultimatums has threatened the small Gulf nation’s sovereignty.
He also welcomed Qatar’s dismissal of a sweeping list of demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies and said the ultimatum was “against international law.”
Speaking to reporters in Istanbul after Eid al-Fitr prayers at Mimar Sinan mosque, Erdogan called the demand for the removal of Turkish troops “disrespectful” and said Turkey would not seek permission from others when making its defense cooperation agreements.
Photo: Reuters
He said Turkey would continue to support Qatar against the many sanctions it has faced since several Arab nations moved earlier this month to isolate the country for its alleged support of terrorism.
The Turkish military said that a contingent of 23 soldiers had reached Doha on Thursday.
Erdogan said he made a similar offer to Saudi Arabia to set up a base a while ago, but did not hear back from the king.
Doha received a 13-point list from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain that included demands to shut down the al-Jazeera network and cut ties with several groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.
The kingdom said it was reviewing the ultimatum, but it would not negotiate under siege.
Turkey’s president said his nation “admires and embraces” Qatar’s attitude, while slamming the demands by arguing they contradict international law.
“Here we see an attack against a state’s sovereignty rights,” Erdogan said. “There cannot be such an attack on countries’ sovereignty rights in international law.”
Erdogan called the demand that Qatar shut down al-Jazeera an attempt to take away the network’s press freedom and urged rights groups to speak out against that.
Additional reporting by AFP
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