No one has right to ask for closing Turkish base: Qatar

By Ecenur Çolak

ANKARA

Qatar’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah said no country has the right to call for the closure of the Turkish base in Doha.

In an interview with TRT World aired late Monday, al-Attiyah said everyone knew about the Turkish base in Qatar a long time ago.

“Unfortunately, we did not choose the time to attack, besiege and boycott Qatar, they (Saudi-led bloc) did choose the time so they cannot come and ask us to close a base where everybody knows about it from a long time back and this is considered a relation between two sovereign state countries,” he said.

Doha and Ankara signed a defense agreement in 2014 under which Turkey established a base in the Gulf country at the request of the Qatari government.

Last month, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, U.A.E. and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, and imposed a sea and land blockade on it, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

The four states presented a list of demands for Qatar to end the blockade, including the closure of the Al Jazeera television and the Turkish base in Doha, or face further sanctions.

Doha denies the accusation, saying the blockade is a violation of international law.