GCC rivals balance relations with Turkey

The deployment of Turkish forces to Qatar as the emirate’s ‘GCC-3’ rivals ratcheted up pressure – including calls for Ankara to close the new military base it is building in Qatar – has underlined the positioning of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government as a key ally for Doha and Turkey’s wider importance in the regional balance of power. As the crisis unfolded, the Turkish parliament on 7 June ratified two agreements on stationing troops in Doha.