Turkish ambassador meets Qatari Chief of General Staff

Turkey's Ambassador to Qatar, Fikret Özer, met with Qatar's Chief of General Staff, Gen. Ghanem bin Shaheen al-Ghanem on July 19 to discuss strengthening relations between the two countries.  
      
Özer emphasized the brotherhood between Turkey and Qatar while al-Ghanem praised Turkey's support for Qatar during its current crisis with a number of Gulf states, according to an embassy official.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar last month, and imposed a sea and land blockade while accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.        

The four states presented a list of demands to Qatar to end the blockade, including the closures of the Al Jazeera television network and the Turkish base in Doha. The group threatened additional sanctions if the demands were not met.  Doha denies the accusation of terrorism and contends the blockade is a violation of international law.