Turkey-UAE diplomatic relations in crisis

Diplomatic relations between Turkey and the UAE are heading towards a crisis as tension and a media war has been heating up since the ouster of freely-elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July, 2013, Al-Quds Al-Araby has claimed.

In a lengthy report, the London-based Arabic newspaper said that the differences between the two countries have been emerging since the military coup carried out in Egypt in 2013. Although part-funded by the UAE, Turkey has criticised the coup. Indeed, it has also been suggested that the reason behind the differences between the two countries is that Turkey supported the Arab revolutions and the UAE opposed them and has been working to deter them.

Several months after the Egyptian coup, the tension reduced but it was revived by the UAE media during the recent election in Turkey. Outlets in the Emirates have described Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “dictator”.

The UAE also accuses Turkey of supporting Daesh, which the government in Ankara has denied. In response, the media in Turkey has been raising questions about human rights and media freedom in the UAE.

After the arrest of a UAE spy in Libya it was found that he carried a map of the Turkish embassy in Tripoli. Turkish writer Ismail Yasha criticised the government in Abu Dhabi, accusing it of planning to bomb the embassy and supporting Daesh. He also accused it of standing behind the attack on the Turkish consulate in Misrata.

The UAE has in turn accused Turkey of supplying weapons to the Libyan rebels, who are currently ruling in Tripoli. Ankara has denied this and pointed out that the UAE supports renegade General Khalifa Haftar, who has been waging a war on Tripoli, supported by the West.

A well-informed and credible source told Al-Quds Al-Araby that Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is busy forming his government but is ready to issue an official response to the UAE accusations if the situation requires it.