Turkish president congratulates new Saudi crown prince

Two leaders agree to increase efforts to end Qatar rift
Thursday, 22 June 2017 06:13

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated new Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohamed bin Salman early Thursday, as the two men expressed a desire for stronger ties between their nations, state-run Anadolu news agency reported citing presidential sources said.

Erdoğan and the crown prince also agreed “to increase the efforts to end the tension in the axis of Qatar," during a telephone call, according to sources. Erdoğan and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz will have a face-to-face meeting at the G20 Summit on July 7-8 in Hamburg, Germany.

In a royal decree early Wednesday, Salman placed his son, Mohammed, 31, as first in line to the throne. He also relieved Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, from his position as the deputy prime minister and interior minister.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Wednesday also congratulated the new crown prince, according to state news agency QNA. In separate cables to the king and the prince, Doha said it wished for "more progress for brotherly relations between the two brotherly countries", QNA said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and other countries have cut ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports extremism. Doha denies the accusations and says measures imposed on Qatar by its Gulf neighbours amount to a "blockade". Turkey is one of Qatar's strongest allies. It has also increased food supplies to Qatar after the emirate's land border was closed.