Turkish FM in Qatar to resolve Gulf diplomatic rift

Doha [Qatar], June 15 (ANI): Taking initiative to resolve the Gulf crisis Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has landed in Doha in a first leg to his Gulf tour to mend Qatar's ties with Arab states and said the crisis should be resolved "through peace and dialogue".

"The efforts by Turkey so far and the future steps to be taken were discussed during his meetings with several top Qatari officials," Anadolu quoted Cavusoglu as saying.

Accompanied by Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Cavusoglu met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani.

"The situation we have been going through in this holy month of Ramadan is a really undesired one. There is such a crisis between sister countries and there are some steps that directly affect people. We must absolutely overcome it. We need to overcome it through peace and dialogue," Cavusoglu said, underlining that Turkey was contributing to the peace process.

"We do not want any differences between our brothers in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, and it is not enough to say that there is a problem without trying to resolve it," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

Cavusoglu also said he would visit Kuwait later on Wednesday and meet Saudi Arabian King Salman Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on Friday in Mecca to resolve the Gulf crisis.

Qatar termed the actions by Gulf member countries of isolating it diplomatically as "unjustified".

Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain, along with Egypt had snapped diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Qatar earlier this month.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also promised to continue supporting Qatar amid a diplomatic row engulfing that Gulf state. Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting terrorism, adding Turkey "will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar."

The Turkish leader has urged Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions and lift sanctions. However, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the U.A.E. in a collective statement has accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organisations in Qatar of being "linked to terror."

This situation is a repeat of 2014, when several Gulf countries recalled their Ambassadors from Doha over its support for Muslim Brotherhood.(ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI