Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that Turkey expects Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to lead an effort to resolve the Qatar crisis, adding that imposing sanctions and embargoes would not help remedy the situation. Speaking at a joint press conference in Ankara with his Tunisian counterpart, Cavusoglu said Turkey maintained its impartiality in the regional rift surrounding Qatar, and was pushing ahead with efforts to solve it.
“We share our views to resolve this problem. We maintain our impartiality but we say what is wrong without hesitation. We try to contribute to resolve this problem. As you know I paid a visit to Algeria, I apologize, to Kuwait after Qatar. And tomorrow, God willing, I will visit Mecca and hold talks in Saudi Arabia. We are making sincere efforts to solve this problem among brothers,” said Cavusoglu.
Even though the Turkish top diplomat claimed that Turkey was impartial with regard to the crisis, it has condemned the move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as ‘inhumane’. Nevertheless, the rift continues to widen, as Qatar continues to deny allegations that it supports terror organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and rejects allegations of courting Saudi Arabia’s regional rival – the Islamic Republic of Iran.