Plot Thickens? Turkish Parliament Approves Deployment of Troops at Qatar Base

The Turkish parliament on Wednesday approved draft legislation allowing the deployment of Turkish troops to a military base in Qatar in light of the ongoing rift between Qatar and other Gulf Arab countries, Turkey's NTV television reported.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — According to NTV, the deployment of Turkish soldiers in Qatar will be carried out in accordance with the agreement on cooperation between the two countries in the field of security and training of police officers, signed in 2015.

On June 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic relations with Qatar. The states accused Qatar of supporting terrorist groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist movement, as well as of interfering in other countries' domestic affairs. Libya made a similar decision. Yemen cut diplomatic relations citing Doha's links with Houthis. The Maldives took the same step, citing extremism and terrorism concerns. Mauritius joined the boycott. Mauritania broke off diplomatic ties with Qatar while Jordan downgraded ties with the country on June 6. The Comoros joined the campaign on June 7.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry rejected the accusations of Doha's interference in other countries' domestic affairs and expressed regret over the decision of the Gulf States to cut off the diplomatic ties with it.