Middle East:: Qatar envoy hails Turkish role ahead of Erdoğan’s visit

Erdogan,stabilizing force in Middle East

Qatar’s envoy to Turkey has underlined the importance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to Qatar on Tuesday.

“We believe that high-level diplomatic visits between Qatar and Turkey are very important and necessary,” ambassador Salem bin Mubarak Al Shafi told Anadolu Agency in an interview.

“Such visits maintain the momentum in bilateral relations and help better consult and coordinate on swift changes and regional and international issues,” he added.

Erdoğan is scheduled to arrive in Qatar on Tuesday as part of a regional tour that already took him to Kuwait.

“We are satisfied with the level of our relations, especially that relations have overcome very difficult tests during the past two days,” the Qatari envoy said.

He said talks between Erdoğan and Qatari leaders are expected to tackle all important issues.

“The visit will undoubtedly dwell on the Gulf crisis and ongoing mediation efforts,” Al Shafi said.

In June, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain all abruptly cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups in the region.

The four states have also threatened Qatar with additional sanctions if Doha failed to meet a long list of demands, including one for the closure of Qatari news broadcaster Al Jazeera.

Qatar, however, has so far refused to comply, vociferously denying the accusations against it and describing Saudi-led attempts to isolate it as a breach of international law and its own national sovereignty.

Note EU-Digest: regardless of our often expressed critical comments in relation to a variety of disturbing developments in Turkey under the present leadership of President Erdogan re: Freedom of the Press, and Human Rights violations, one must also give credit where credit is due.

Not only has Mr. Erdogan lived up to the agreement he made with the EU on controlling the stream of Syrian refugees into the EU, he also has been a stabilizing force in the Middle East, trying to cool down the looming conflict between, on one side Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain, and on the other side Qatar.

Contrary to our own EU, he has also had the courage to speak out against the US  Trump Administration's nebulous Middle East policies, and the role of NATO in this equation. 

Mr. Erdogan might not be everyone's favorite "Poster Boy" but he certainly is a leader in his own right.

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