Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan left Qatar on July 24 after two days in the Gulf trying to mediate in the worst row among Arab states for years but there was no sign he had made any progress. However, Erdoğan said his visit to the Gulf region made a contribution to easing the crisis surrounding Ankara's ally Qatar, but indicated that more time was needed to end the standoff.
"I think that our visit and contacts have been an important step on the way to rebuilding stability and mutual confidence," Erdoğan told reporters at Ankara airport after returning from Qatar. "Of course it's easy to demolish something, what is hard is to again rebuild something that has been demolished. And in relations between states, this takes more time and trouble," said.
On June 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain suspended diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar over allegations that Doha had too close ties with Iran and supported Islamist extremist groups. Qatar strongly denies the allegation.
Erdoğan visited Saudi Arabia and Kuwait at the weekend before heading to Qatar earlier Monday for talks with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in a trip aimed at solving the crisis.
Qatari state-run QNA news agency said that Qatari leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, had "reviewed regional developments, specifically the Gulf crisis and efforts to contain it and to resolve it through diplomatic means..." in talks with Erdogan. The agency said the talks also covered joint efforts to combat terrorism and reviewed defence and economic cooperation.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain demanded Doha accept a tough 13-point list of demands to end the rift, including shutting down news outlets including Al-Jazeera, cutting ties with Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country.
Ankara 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. Turkey and Qatar have been important backers of the Muslim Brotherhood movement that has challenged entrenched Arab rulers and Erdoğan has his roots in an Islamist political party. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation. Qatar has emerged as Turkey's top ally in the Middle East in recent years, with Ankara and Doha closely coordinating over issues including the Syria conflict where the two are staunch foes of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
