(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Irfan Bukhari / The Peninsula
Ambassador of Turkey to Qatar, Fikret Özer, yesterday said that as part of his efforts to resolve Gulf crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would visit Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia next month. 'President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit three Gulf countries from August 18 to 20 in a bid to resolve tensions in the region as Turkey is sad over current scenario and wants peace and stability in the region, the ambassador said. He was responding to questions after addressing the press conference organised to pay tributes to the martyrs of botched coup attempt of July 15 in Turkey. Ambassador Özer said that Turkey was worried about the current crisis in the Gulf and wanted its swift resolution.
He said that since the start of the Gulf crisis, Turkey had provided full support to Qatar. 'So far, 197 cargo planes from Turkey have landed in Qatar with various kinds of goods and this cooperation will continue. The first ship from Turkey also called on Hamad Port on July 3, he added.
He said that the ministries of economy of both countries were in constant contact and were working in close cooperation for future initiatives like the possibility of starting joint ventures etc.
Earlier addressing the press conference, the ambassador said that Turkey had left behind an extremely difficult year. 'On the night of July 15, 2016, a terrorist cult tried to stage a coup in Turkey, trying to depose the democratically elected government. The coup was organized by a clique within the Turkish armed forces linked to the Fetullahist Terrorist Organisation (FETO), he said.
He said that the perpetrators of this attempt fired on civilians, stabbed their commanders in the back and bombed the national parliament and the office of the presidency. 'This heinous coup attempt was an act of treason which targeted our national values, our democratic and economic achievements, and our foreign policy.
'It was the whole Turkish nation that rose up against this plot. Our fellow citizens showed historical resilience and solidarity as they went to the streets and took up the challenge. Soldiers who fired on innocent civilians had to lay down their weapons. The attempted coup had thus failed, he added.
'We have witnessed such a great solidarity from Qatar. His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was the first leader to call President Erdoğan and expressed support to our Government and Turkish people. Then, HH the Father Emir, HH the Emir, HE the Prime Minister, HE the Foreign Minister and many Qatari Minister visited Turkey and demonstrated Qatar's absolute support. This support will never be forgotten, he said.
The Ambassador said: 'Today we commemorate once again with gratitude and compassion our martyrs that night and we respectfully bow to their memories.
'For a long time, we have been informing our partners and allies about FETO and how this terrorist organization has secretly infiltrated public institutions over the years. We also tell our friends that FETO is presented in 160 countries via its network of schools, companies, media centers and NGOs and that this is also a threat to these countries, the Ambassador said.
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