Erdogan heading to Gulf this week

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his wife Emine Erdogan (L) leave the plane in Washington, United States on 15 May, 2017 [Kayhan Özer / Anadolu Agency]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on 23-24 July, the Turkish presidency said today.

Erdogan has been a staunch ally of Qatar in its dispute with Gulf Arab neighbours. He criticised a list of demands by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to end sanctions they imposed on Doha last month over allegations Qatar funds terrorist groups and is allied to their arch-foe Iran.

#QatarGate

Qatar denies the accusations.

“We consider these demands are against international law,” Erdogan told journalists at the end of June. “It is a breach of Qatar’s sovereignty rights.”

Turkey has also sent 197 cargo planes, 16 trucks and one ship to Qatar to meet its daily needs since the dispute broke on 5 June.

Read: Turkey sent 200 cargo planes to Qatar since Gulf rift

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