Baku, Azerbaijan, June 17
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Turkey’s military base in Qatar causes strong concern among the Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkish foreign policy expert Timucin Mercanoglu told Trend.
“Turkey is one of the most important countries in the region, and Saudi Arabia should understand that,” he said.
Saudi Arabia fears the US and is suspicious of Turkey, according to the expert.
“Sooner or later, the Kingdom authorities will have to make a choice between the US and Turkey in the region,” said Mercanoglu.
He expressed confidence that the Turkish military base in Qatar is aimed at preserving stability in the region.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar June 5, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East. Later, a number of other countries also announced about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.
Commenting on this, Mercanoglu said he believes the US stands behind the Qatar crisis.
“The US wants to establish full control over the Arab countries to take the sale of oil and gas to China into its own hands,” he added.
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