Turkey and Qatar on Friday (July 14th) insisted Ankara would keep a new military base in the emirate, rejecting demands from other Gulf countries for the facility to be closed, AFP reported.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain last month cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over what they allege is Doha's support for extremist groups and ties to Iran.
They then issued 13 wide-ranging demands to lift a blockade placed on Qatar, including the closure of the Turkish military base in the emirate.
"No country has the right to raise the issue of the Turkish base or the military co-operation between Qatar and Turkey as long as this co-operation respects international law," Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.
Speaking after meeting al-Thani in Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the demands to close the base "go against the two countries' sovereignty".
Cavusoglu added that until now, there had been "no objections" over the base, Turkey's first military facility in the Gulf region.
