Turkish troops have arrived in Doha to take part in joint
training exercises, Qatar's defence ministry said on Monday, at a time
of high tension in the Gulf.
The
first joint drills took place on Sunday at the Tariq bin Ziyad military
camp in Doha, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official
news agency.
The exercises aim to raise "Qatari and
Turkish fighting efficiency amid plans for joint operations to fight
extremism and terrorism, as well as peacekeeping operations before and
after military operations," said the statement in Arabic.
The drills had "been planned for some time" added the statement.
They are taking place as a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf enters its third week.
Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and other countries
have cut ties with Qatar over accusations the emirate supports
extremism.
Doha denies the accusations and says measures imposed on Qatar by its Gulf neighbours amount to a "blockade".
Turkey is one of Qatar's strongest allies.
Earlier this month, Ankara fast-tracked a separate agreement to allow troops to be deployed at Turkey's military base in Qatar.
It has also increased food supplies to Qatar after the emirate's land border was closed.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has been one of the figures trying to forge a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
And
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed the economic and
political isolation of Qatar as "inhumane and un-Islamic".
Last
year, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was the first
foreign leader to phone Erdogan after a failed coup in Turkey.
Last week, Qatar's navy carried out three days of joint training exercises with the US Navy.
