Mediaboss Marketing

Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (R) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L) walk past an honor guard during an official welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Ankara, Dec. 19, 2014.(photo byADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Author:Amberin Zaman Posted June 5, 2017

The dramatic decision by five Arab countries to sever ties with Qatarover its alleged coddling of the Muslim Brotherhood and its flirtation with their archenemyIran has caught the pugnacious emirates closest regional ally, Turkey, off balance and wondering whether it too may betargeted.

Turkeys initial reaction to the announcement by Bahrain, Egypt,Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen that they were suspending diplomatic ties as well as air and sea travel to and from Qatarwas a call for dialogue. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a news conference,We see the stability in the Gulf region as our own unity and solidarity." He went on, "Countries may of course have some issues, but dialogue must continue for problems to be resolved peacefully. We are saddened by the current picture and will give any support for its normalization.

Clearly, Qatars predicament will have a ripple effect in Turkey. Turkeys flourishing political, military and business ties with Qatar have been described and analyzed in exhaustive detail by fellow Al-Monitor columnists Metin Gurcan, Mustafa Sonmez and Fehim Tastekin. As Sonmez pointed out, the Turkish construction giantswho are driving the Turkish economyare pinning their hopes on winning contracts in Qatar. While relatively small compared to Qatar'sinvestments elsewhere, injections of Qatari money has brought some relief to Turkeys faltering finances. Qatar has also helped bankroll Turkeys Sunni Arab rebel proxies in Syriaand piggy-backed on Turkeys geostrategic clout to amplify its own in the region.

But above all, the increasingly conspiratorial and paranoid mindset in Ankara has some worrying that Turkey may somehow be in the line of fire.

A Turkish source with access to the countrys senior leadershipwho asked to not be identified by name told Al-Monitor,They see parallels between [former Egyptian President] Mohammed Morsis ouster and whats happening to Qatar now. They see it as part of a concerted campaign orchestrated by Israel and the United States against the Muslim Brotherhood and its allies with whom they feel anideological affinity and they are connecting the dots to theJuly 15coup.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was among the most vocal critics of current Egyptian PresidentAbdel Fattah al-Sisi after the former general ejected and jailed Morsi in 2013. Erdogan called Sisia putschist who had murdered thousands of his own people in an interview with the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera. For Erdogan, Sisi is no different from the Turkish generals who waged anunsuccessful campaign to unseat him. And while he blames the July coup attempt on the Pennsylvania-based Turkish imamFethullah Gulen, the source said,Erdogan believes that Gulen could not have acted without America and Israels support and that they may try to go after him again, and going after Qatar is like going after Turkey.

As Erdogan himself frequently acknowledges, Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani was the first international leader to call him on the night of the coup. The emir was rumored to have offered the Turkish presidentan airplane, protection and sanctuary if need be.

The UAE, which is spearheading Qatars isolation, has been accused by the pro-government Turkish media of transferring funds to Gulen operatives weeks before the coup attempt. Some of the accusations are based on the hacked emails of the UAE ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba.

As of the time of publication,Erdogan had yet to publicly rise to Qatars defense. But pro-government accounts on Twitter have already done so in force with the hashtag #TurkeyWithQatar trending in Turkey. Echoing the prevailing mood, an account called @fireoftheturk tweeted a picture of Thani shaking hands with Erdogan captioned,We are with you [Q]atar, dont worry and "Allah too [has] a plan."

Read More: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/06/five-arab-states-sever-qatar-turkey-worried.html

Read more:
Ankara's paranoia spikes as Qatar shunned - Al-Monitor