Turkish ambassador meets Qatari Chief of General Staff

By Ahmed Youssef Elsayed Abdelrehim and Gulsen Topcu

DOHA

Turkey's Ambassador to Qatar, Fikret Ozer, met here Wednesday with Qatar’s Chief of General Staff, Gen. Ghanem bin Shaheen Al-Ghanem to discuss strengthening relations between the two countries.

Ozer emphasized the brotherhood between Turkey and Qatar while Al-Ghanem praised Turkey's support for Qatar during it current crisis with a number of Gulf states, according to an embassy official who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar last momth, and imposed a sea and land blockade while accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

The four states presented a list of demands to Qatar to end the blockade, including the closures of the Al Jazeera television network and Turkish base in Doha. The group threatened additional sanctions if the demands were not met.

Doha denies the accusation of terrorism and contends the blockade is a violation of international law.