Turkey to fast-track troop deployment in Qatar

Turkish officials say decision will be brought forward due to worsening Gulf diplomatic rift [File: Murad Sezer/Reuters]

Turkey's parliament is expected to fast-track on Wednesday a draft bill allowing its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.

Sources in the Turkish parliament, speaking to Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity, said that the decision to deploy troops in Qatar - first made in May - will be brought forward in light of the worsening Gulf diplomatic rift.

Qatar faces embargoes as biggest regional diplomatic crisis in years escalates

Turkey is a key ally of Qatar and is setting up a military base in the country which also hosts the largest US air base in the Middle East.

The Turkish move appears to support the Gulf Arab country as it faces diplomatic and trade isolation from some of the biggest Middle Eastern powers.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, accusing it with financing extremist groups.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations. It is the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the Arab states' move, saying isolating Qatar and imposing sanctions will not resolve any problems and adding that Ankara will do everything in its power to help end the crisis.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbours.
Turkish-Qatari military cooperation

Lawmakers from Erdogan's AK Party have proposed debating two pieces of legislation: allowing Turkish troops to be deployed in Qatar and approving an accord between the two countries on military training cooperation, AKP and nationalist opposition officials said, according to Reuters news agency.

Both draft bills, which were drawn up before the spat between Qatar and its Arab neighbours erupted, are expected to be approved by the Ankara parliament later on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis - Your questions answered

Turkey set up a military base in Qatar, its first such installation in the Middle East, as part of an agreement signed in 2014. In 2016 Ahmet Davutoglu, then Turkish prime minister, visited the base where 150 troops have already been stationed, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reported.

In an interview with Reuters in late 2015, Ahmet Demirok, Turkey's ambassador to Qatar at the time, said 3,000 ground troops would eventually be deployed at the base, planned to serve primarily as a venue for joint training exercises.