With Gulf Tour Erdogan Tried to Highlight the Role of Turkey in the Region

• 07.25.2017, 20:48
•  Region,  World

Anadolu Agency

Erdogan’s Gulf tour, aimed at finding ways for solving the Qatar crisis, is over. During this tour Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. In Saudi Arabia Erdogan held separate meetings with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud and in Kuwait the Turkish President met Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister. In Qatar the sides discussed the Gulf crisis and efforts being exerted to defuse the dispute between Doha and a group of Saudi-led Arab states through dialogue and diplomatic means, Al Jazeera reports.

Turkey was one of the fewest countries that posited against the measures suggested towards Qatar and declared that it will do its best to help solving the crisis. In this context the tour was the logical continuation or maybe the highest point of Erdogan’s attempts to play a decisive role in the issue. Despite the fact that the visit ended without any sign of real progress, the tour itself was important for Turkey for several reasons.

First of all, with this tour Erdogan tried to show that Turkey has a ʺsayʺ in the region and it is such an important player to be able to have its crucial contribution in solving the Qatar crisis.

Second, Erdogan’s such attempts are in line with Turkey’s policy to keep good relations with the Muslim world, at the same time trying to take the role of a leading country, which has power to solve questions hindering Muslim world unity.

Besides the issue of Turkey’s reputation, Qatar has a strategic importance for Turkey. Qatar has been the closest ally of Turkey in supporting the Islamist political parties and rebels during the Arab Spring. Besides, Turkey has a military base in Qatar, which was opened last year and is Turkey’s only such outpost in the region (the list of 13 demands on Qatar presented by the Saudi-led group also included closing the Turkish base).