Qatar defense minister visits Turkey

Qatar's defense minister is visiting Ankara on June 30 for discussions on Turkey's military and defense support to the Gulf country amid the ongoing rift between Doha and four Arab states. 

Qatari Defense Minister Khaled bin Mohammed al-Attiyah was due to meet with his Turkish counterpart Fikri Işık in the late afternoon, after the Hürriyet Daily News went press. 

Qatar is being boycotted by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition over alleged support for terrorism, in what has become the worst Gulf Arab crisis in years.

Turkey has shipped supplies to Doha to help ease its isolation and swiftly ratified military agreements with Qatar.

Crucially, Ankara is also setting up a military base on the emirate that is set to give Turkey a new foothold in the Gulf.  A bill was fast-tracked through the Turkish parliament this month as the crisis was breaking out, giving Ankara a mandate to send up to several thousand troops to the base.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates abruptly cut ties with Qatar on June 5, arguing that Doha supports terrorism.

Qatar denies the accusations and has rejected a 13-point list of demands it received from the four countries to restore ties. The deadline for demands is expected to expire on Sunday.

The four, among other demands, are pressing Doha to shut down a Turkish military base in the country.

However, Ankara does not plan to reassess a deal on its military base in Qatar, Defense Minister Fikri Işık said on June 23 in a reply to a call from four Arab states to shut down its military base in the Gulf state. 

"Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda," Işık said in a televised interview, adding that Turkey's presence in Qatar...