Baku, Azerbaijan, July 1
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Turkey has increased the number of its servicemen up to 1,000 in Qatar, the Al Jazeera TV channel reported July 1.
According to the TV channel, the second group of Turkish servicemen has arrived in Qatar recently.
The Turkish servicemen will hold joint drills together with Qatar’s Armed Forces at the Tariq bin Ziyad military base, according to the report.
Qatar’s Minister of Defense Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah has recently visited Turkey, where he had a meeting with Turkish counterpart Fikri Isik.
On June 9, a military agreement entered into force between Qatar and Turkey. The document was signed on November 10, 2016 in Ankara.
Earlier, a law was passed in Turkey on ratification of an agreement between the two countries on the deployment of a Turkish military contingent in Qatar. Currently, there are 113 Turkish servicemen in Qatar.
The establishment of a Turkish military base in Qatar is envisaged by the agreement on strengthening bilateral cooperation signed by the two countries in 2014.
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, the authorities of Libya, Yemen, as well as the Maldives and Mauritius also announced about severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu