Turkey will inaugurate in Autumn a new military base in Qatar, two years after bolstering its military presence in the tiny Gulf country isolated by its traditional regional allies.
Ankara, according to Hürriyet correspondent Hande Fırat, will unveil a new military base near Tariq bin Ziyad military installation that is hosting already 3,000 Qatari and Turkish forces.
“The number of soldiers will increase. I am not giving numbers considering Turkey’s interests and security, but I can say that it will reach a drastic figure,” the correspondent added.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Qatar’s ruler will attend the inauguration, Firat indicated.
Turkish forces have been present in Qatar since October as part of defense agreement between the two countries but Ankara in 2017 increased its boots after Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off ties with Doha over its alleged support for terrorism.
The move angered the Saudi-led league, which included the pullout of Turkish forces into a set of conditions for the renewal of ties with Qatar.
Turkey and Iran were the first countries to help Qatar to overcome its sea/air/land isolation.
