Turkish FM urges peace, dialogue in Gulf crises

The crisis between Qatar and some Arab countries should be resolved "through peace and dialogue," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said June 14.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency during a visit to Qatar's capital, Doha, amid a diplomatic row in the Gulf region, Çavuşoğlu said the efforts by Turkey so far and the future steps to be taken were discussed during his meetings with several top Qatari officials.

Accompanied by Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Çavuşoğlu met with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani and Economy and Trade Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al-Thani.

"The situation we have been going through during this [holy month of] Ramadan is a really undesirable one. There is such a crisis between sister countries and there are some steps that directly affect people. We must absolutely overcome it. We need to overcome it through peace and dialogue," Çavuşoğlu said, underlining that Ankara was contributing to the peace process.

The minister also said he would visit Kuwait later on June 14 and meet Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud on June 16 in Mecca.

Last week, five Arab countries - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen - cut off ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Qatar, for its part, has denied the accusations, calling the moves to diplomatically isolate it "unjustified."

Ankara has said that it stands with the tiny Gulf state against the sanctions and has urged Riyadh to take the lead in finding a solution to the crisis.