Turkey and Qatar have started a joint military exercise on Tuesday in the Persian Gulf, in the midst of a months-long strife between Doha and the Arab quartet led by Saudi Arabia.
Turkey will participate with more than 250 servicemen and over 30 armored vehicles, according to the Turkish media. The first stage of the exercise will take place on land, while the second phase will be naval, and it will include the Turkish frigate TCG Goekova which recently arrived in Qatar.
The joint military drill is part of a security agreement signed by the two back in 2014, which also led to the creation of a Turkish military base in the emirate. Ankara boosted its military presence in the Gulf monarchy in June 2017, adding 23 servicemen to a total amount of around 1,000 army members in the country.
Turkey's military presence in Qatar was one of the reasons Saudi-led bloc cited when it decided to cut off diplomatic relations with Doha and impose severe sanctions in early June. In strenuous efforts to end the Gulf crisis, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have insisted, among other things, that Turkish soldiers leave Qatar.