Turkey and Iran offer full support to Qatar
Turkey and Iran have offered full support to Qatar, now under blockade by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.
Turkey and Iran have offered full support to Qatar, now under blockade by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.
Turkey and Iran are two countries directly related to the Qatar crisis. Iran's President Hasan Rouhani spoke with the Qatar Emir on the phone and told him they reject the blockade and wish to deepen their relationship with Qatar.
Rouhani said, "Tehran stands with the people and the government of Qatar," and added: "Aiding the Qatar economy and especially developing the relationship between the private sectors of our two countries could be a common goal."
Rouhani called Qatar a neighbor and a sister country and stated that Iran's air space, maritime routes and terrestrial roads are open for Qatar.
Reports say Iran has been sending 1100 tonnes of fruits and vegetables to Qatar since the blockade started.
The other defender of Qatar, Turkey has issued another statement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan protested the 13-point list issued for Qatar.
Erdoğan said: "For one, as Turkey we support and appreciate Qatar's stance against the 13 points. We applaud it, and we think the 13 points go against international law."
The 13-point list given to Qatar includes a demand to shut down the Turkish military base. Erdoğan said, "Demanding Turkey withdraw its troops now, when there hasn't been a return in this direction, is unfortunately disrespectful against Turkey as well."
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates decided to sever all relationship with Qatar on June 5. All four countries accuse Qatar of "supporting terrorist organizations".
Following the four countries, Yemen, the Maldives and the government in Eastern Libya decided to join the blockade.
The 13-point list given to Qatar includes shutting down the Turkish military base in the country, weakening ties with Iran, shutting down the media network Al Jazeera and severing ties with Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Nusra, Al Qaeda and ISIS.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a statement on Sunday and called the four countries enforcing a blockade on Qatar to soften their discourse.
The Qatar crisis started after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia.