Turkey sends warplanes and ships, says Qatar deployment aims to ensure security

After an initial deployment of Turkish troops at a base in Qatar's Doha, Turkish warplanes and ships will also be sent
Sunday, 11 June 2017 20:05

After an initial deployment of Turkish troops at a base in Qatar's Doha, Turkish warplanes and ships will also be sent, Turkish daily Hürriyet newspaper said on its website on Friday.

"The number of Turkish warplanes and Turkish warships going to the base will become clear after the preparation of a report based on an initial assessment at the base," Hürriyet said.

A Turkish delegation would go to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where around 90 Turkish soldiers are currently based, it said. There were plans send some 200 to 250 soldiers within two months in the initial stage.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan approved another accord between Turkey and Qatar on military training cooperation late on Thursday. Both bills were drawn up before the dispute erupted. The bill did not specify how many troops would go nor when. 

The purpose of the troop deployment "is to help foster security and stability across the Gulf," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said after talks attended by Erdoğan, who said he wanted all parties to end the standoff before the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, around June 25.

Turkey has also pledged to provide food and water supplies to Qatar.

Erdoğan, who has long tried to play the role of a "regional power broker", vowed to support Qatar. So far, Turkey has not directly criticised Riyadh.

The crisis escalated on Friday after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain released a list of 59 Qatari and Doha-based people and entities linked to "terrorism".

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed some terrorist groups fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.