Turkey's Erdogan in Qatar on first Arab trip since Syria offensive
Monday, November 25, 2019       18:06 WIB

Doha, Nov 25, 2019 (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Qatar Monday on his first official trip to an Arab country since Ankara's forces intervened in northeast Syria last month against Kurdish fighters.
Ankara and Doha have grown closer since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with their former Gulf ally more than two years ago.
The bitter rift came over accusations that Qatar supports extremist groups and wants closer links with Iran, the arch-rival of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.
However, Erdogan's visit comes at a critical time amid signs of a possible breakthrough in the crisis between Qatar and its neighbours -- in what could be pushing Ankara to further bolster its political and economic relations with Doha.
Erdogan will attend the fifth meeting of the Qatar-Turkey Higher Strategic Committee at the invitation of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Qatar News Agency reported.
The two countries are expected to sign a number of deals during Erdogan's third visit to Qatar since the Saudi-led blockade began in June 2017, which led to rising Turkish influence in Doha.
Erdogan is also expected to visit a Turkish military base where around 5,000 troops are stationed amid reports that Qatar intends to buy 100 Turkish tanks.
The burgeoning relationship saw Turkey's military presence in Qatar increase and Doha promised economic support to Ankara during last year's currency crisis.
Doha declared its support for Ankara after it launched an offensive on October 9 against a Syrian Kurdish militia, but Arab countries including Saudi Arabia have condemned Turkey's "aggression".
Qatar and Turkey have similar policies over Islamist groups, primarily the Muslim Brotherhood.
Turkey's relations with both Cairo and Riyadh are rocky at present, and ties between the kingdom and Ankara worsened significantly after Washington Post contributor and regime critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018.
However, the decision by football teams from the Saudi-led bloc to play at a tournament in Qatar could herald a rapprochement.
The Saudi and UAE squads arrived in Qatar on Monday to compete in the Arabian Gulf tournament in Doha from November 26, despite their two-year boycott of Qatar.
Bahrain also said it would take part.

Sumber : AFP