First batch of Turkish troops arrive in Qatar

Turkey has sent a first batch of soldiers to Qatar in line with a recent deal on deployment, along with five armored vehicles, the Turkish military said June 22.

"The transfer of five armored vehicles and 23 military personnel at 8 a.m. on June 22, 2017, to Doha was completed as part of a troop deploying process by the Turkish Armed Forces to Qatar" as part of a deal on "the training, cooperation and deployment of troops," it said.

 Turkey's parliament on June 7 fast-tracked legislation to allow troops to be deployed to a military base in Qatar, two days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha in the worst diplomatic crisis in the region in years, over allegations that Doha supports terrorism. 

"This is not a new deal," presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın told a group of journalists in Ankara on June 22, adding that the deal was signed in 2016 and the first related talks dated back to 2014.

The size and the activities of the military base in Qatar had not yet been planned together with Doha, he said, highlighting that "the aim of this base is not creating a threat or risk against any third country."

"We are doing this for the whole Gulf region," he said. 

The spokesperson said other countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, have soldiers and bases in Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. 

"Why do things that other countries do become a problem when they are done by Turkey?" Kalın asked. "This is a matter of indigestion for some," he said, without mentioning a specific country or institution. 

An A400M transported the Turkish soldiers, who were carefully picked and who all speak English as a foreign...