Erdogan: Saudi list of demands from Qatar not acceptable
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stressed that his country will remain loyal to Qatar and that a list of demands by Saudi Arabia and its allies from the Persian Gulf country are under no circumstances acceptable.
"When it comes to this list of 13 items... it's not acceptable under any circumstances," said Erdogan in an interview with France 24 television on Wednesday.
He added that such demands are the equivalent of “stripping" Qatar of its statehood.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain all cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on June 5, after officially accusing it of “sponsoring terrorism.”
On June 23, Saudi Arabia and its allies released a 13-point list of demands, including the severance of all Qatar’s ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement.
The closing down of a Turkish military base in Qatar is one of the demands on the list. Erdogan stated the he was willing to close the base if Doha requested to do so.
“The Americans are also there, with 9,000 soldiers, and so are the French... Why are the Saudis disturbed by us and not by that? This is unacceptable," he added.
Read More:
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Meanwhile, the four Arab countries seeking to isolate Qatar have said in a statement that Doha's response to their demands to end the Persian Gulf diplomatic crisis was “not serious.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir also stated that the boycott of Qatar will continue until the Persian Gulf kingdom changes its policies in line with those of the Riyadh regime.
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