Mr Erdogan approved Qatar's stance in the Middle East crisis and said calls for Turkish troops to withdraw from the country are 'disrespectful'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the Extraordinary Congress of the ruling AK Party in Ankara on 21 May 2017 Murad Sezer/Reuters
The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said an ultimatum issued to Qatar is "against international law" and claimed calls to withdraw his troops from the Gulf emirate are "disrespectful".
Mr Erdogan announced his support for the monarchy in Doha after they accused a group of Sunni Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain of forming an "illegal blockade" against them and issuing unreasonable demands.
The anti-Qatari coalition has accused the gas-rich nation of funding terrorist groups in the region – claims echoed by Donald Trump, who said Qatar have “historically been funding terrorism at a very high level” in June.
On 5 June the group severed diplomatic ties with Qatar and demanded that they shut down Al Jazeera television, curb relations with the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran, and close a Turkish military base.
The demands are apparently aimed at dismantling Qatar's interventionist foreign policy, which has incensed conservative Arab peers over its alleged support for Islamists they regard as threats to their dynastic rule.
But officials in Doha rejected the ultimatum and said they won’t sit down to negotiate an end to the crisis while the siege conditions remain in place.
Mr Erdogan approved Qatar's stance and said calls for Turkish troops to withdraw from the country were "disrespectful" on Sunday.
Speaking outside a mosque in Instanbul, he said: "We approve and appreciate the attitude of Qatar against the list of 13 demands.
"This approach of 13 demands is against international law because you cannot attack or intervene in the sovereignty of a country."
Mr Erdogan said Turkey had offered to establish a military base in Saudi Arabia, but haven't received a clear response.
"If Saudi Arabia wants us to have base there, a step towards this also can be taken," he told reporters. "I made this offer to the king himself and they said they will consider this.
"They did not come back to us since that day and even though they still didn't come back to us on this, asking Turkey to pull back its troops (from Qatar) is disrespectful against Turkey."
(Indipendent)