Turkish leader backs Qatar amid diplomatic row

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JUNE 09: Turkish President and the leader of the Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech during an Iftar (fast-breaking) dinner event that organized by his party's Istanbul Province Branch within Muslims' holy month of Istanbul in Yenikapi neighborhood of Fatih District of Istanbul, Turkey on June 09, 2017. Erdogan said Turkey will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday Turkey would stand by Qatar amid a diplomatic row engulfing the Gulf state. "We will not abandon our Qatari brothers," Erdogan told at iftar dinner of his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Istanbul. Speaking about a list published on Thursday claiming some charity foundations backed by Qatar had terrorist links, Erdogan said: "There is no such thing. I know those foundations." Late on Thursday, a joint statement by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the U.A.E. accused 59 individuals and 12 charity organizations in Qatar of being “linked to terror”, local media reported. The list included the International Union of Muslim Scholars' Egyptian chairman, Yousef al-Qaradawi, and Abdullah bin Khalid, a former interior minister of Qatar. Qatar hit back on Friday, in a Foreign Ministry statement which described the accusations as “baseless” and “slanderous”. Erdogan said he had never witnessed Doha supporting terrorism, adding Turkey "will continue to give all kinds of support to Qatar”. On Wednesday, Turkey’s parliament ratified two deals on deploying troops to Qatar and training the Gulf nation's gendarmerie.The deal to deploy Turkish troops in Qatar, aimed at improving the country's army and boosting military cooperation, was signed in April 2016 in Doha. Turkey’s president also called on Saudi Arabia to remove all sanctions on Qatar and open diplomatic talks. (footage by Anadolu Agency / getty images)