Erdoğan: Qatar crisis must be resolved before end of Ramadan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stressed in a closed-door meeting with Bahraini Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa that the current Gulf crisis must be resolved before the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

Al Khalifa, who arrived in Istanbul late on Saturday, was received first by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu before taking part in a closed-door meeting with President Erdoğan at Huber Palace. The meeting lasted for 90 minutes, during which Erdoğan stressed the need to solve the Qatar crisis " before Eid al-Fitr," by the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

After the crisis erupted, Erdoğan acted as the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in a bid for Turkey to mediate an end to the Qatar crisis. He also called the leaders of Qatar, Russia, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia after the severance of ties with the tiny Gulf monarchy was announced to find a diplomatic solution.

In a telephone conversation between Erdoğan and newly elected South Korean leader Moon Jae-In, both leaders emphasized the need to solve the crisis through dialogue.

Erdoğan also held a telephone conversation with Jordanian King Abdullah, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Abul-Razzak, discussing the latest developments in the region, and reiterating the need for a diplomatic solution to the crisis. He also expressed Turkey’s readiness to provide all kinds of support aimed at ending the current row.

“It is wrong to add more troubles on top of everything at a time when the Muslim world is already struggling with a lot of problems,” he said. “I am calling on you: There won't be any winners in a fight among brothers,” Erdoğan said at an iftar (fast-breaking) meal with members of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Istanbul.

The Turkish president pointed that the only winner in this row would be instability in the region.

“You have to work to bring brothers together. This is what we expect from Saudi Arabia, the custodian of the Holy Mosques [in Mecca and Medina],” Erdoğan added.

Turkish prime minister Binali Yıldırım said Saturday that the Qatar crisis could turn in to a global problem if tensions escalate.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism.

Saudi Arabia has also closed its land borders with Qatar, geographically isolating the tiny Gulf state.