Turkiye and Qatar sign mutual defence agreement

Turkiye and ⁠Qatar have signed a mutual defence agreement after a meeting between Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim ‌bin Hamad Al Thani in Istanbul on Friday.

“President Erdogan stated that we would continue working together to prevent ⁠the resurgence of ⁠war in the Gulf region and establish a basis ⁠for dialogue and ⁠achieve peace,” ⁠the Turkish presidency said in a statement on X.

Erdogan’s office said the agreement would “add a new dimension to relations between Turkiye and Qatar”. No further details of the defence accord were provided.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, security analyst Yusuf Alabarda said that since the start of the Iran war, countries in the region “are feeling the effects of the war and no one is feeling secure”.

“All the Gulf countries, but especially Qatar, understood that their security guarantees from the United States are not working properly. The Turkish troops in Qatar are very important but I can say that in the near term Turkish weapons and air defences might be deployed to Qatar to guarantee its safety, which is very important to Turkiye, so this agreement will help move forward these military deals,” Alabarda said.