Turkey's Erdogan calls for dialogue to ease Gulf crisis

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for dialogue and negotiation among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to ease the unprecedented diplomatic crisis that has erupted after some of the countries severed diplomatic relations with Qatar over individual national security concerns.

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin reiterated Turkey's sadness over the incident, and said it stood ready help if needed.

Erdogan is actively involved in the process by conducting bilateral phone calls with several heads of states, including Islamic and western countries.

Earlier on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen cut links with Qatar, in the worst rift in years among major states in the Arab world.

Anadolu news agency quoted Kalin, as saying, "The members of the GCC, with whom Turkey is in a strategic business alliance should solve their problems through negotiation, dialogue, and communication."

Erdogan made phone calls to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, presidential sources said.

Riyadh has accused Qatar of backing terrorism and extremism, while Bahrain has charged Qatar with interfering in it internal affairs.

Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar "proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism."

Saudi Arabia said the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and extremism.

Bahrain's foreign affairs ministry issued a statement that it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.