Erdogan arrives in Qatar on last leg of Gulf tour

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Monday in Qatar from Kuwait on the last leg of a Gulf tour that also included Saudi Arabia.

He is scheduled to hold talks with Qatar's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on the Gulf crisis and bilateral relations.

The Turkish leader is accompanied by a high-profile delegation that includes Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Chief of Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar, and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) head Hakan Fidan.

Erdogan had held talks with leaders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as part of his efforts to solve the Gulf crisis, triggered by the cutoff of relations between Qatar and four Arab states, who accuse Doha of supporting terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar and presented a list of demands to Doha to end the siege, including the closure of the Al Jazeera television network and Turkish base in Doha, or face further sanctions.

Doha denies the accusation of terrorism and contends the blockade is a violation of international law.