Qatar, Turkey defence ministers to meet

Turkish and Qatari defence ministers will meet in Ankara tomorrow amid the ongoing Gulf crisis, ministry sources revealed today.

The meeting between Qatari Defence Minister, Khalid Bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah, and his Turkish counterpart, Fikri Isik, will take place in the Defence Ministry, according to sources who cannot be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

The meeting comes amid an ongoing crisis in the Gulf region, where several Arab states – including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen – have imposed a diplomatic and economic blockade on Qatar, which they accuse of supporting terrorism.

Read: Timeline of the Arab rift with Qatar

Turkey has vowed to stand by Qatar and called on Saudi Arabia to end all sanctions.

Earlier in June, Turkey’s parliament ratified two deals on deploying troops to Qatar and training its army.

Aid, including a ship carrying 4,000 tonnes of food left Turkey for Qatar last week.

So far, 105 cargo planes from Turkey have carried aid to Qatar, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said.