ANKARA – Turkey’s top diplomat Hakan Fidan will travel to Qatar on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing conflict involving Iran and its broader implications for Middle East stability, according to a Turkish diplomatic source who spoke Monday.
The NATO-allied nation of Turkey, which shares a border with Iran, has maintained ongoing communications with the United States, Iran, and mediating nation Pakistan throughout the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Turkish officials have advocated for ending the hostilities while denouncing both attacks against Iran and Tehran’s military actions targeting Gulf nations.
Fidan, whose most recent trip to Doha occurred in March and who conducted two phone conversations with Iran’s foreign minister over the weekend, plans to reaffirm Turkey’s backing of ally Qatar amid Iranian aggression, the diplomatic source indicated.
The foreign minister will communicate Ankara’s demands for maintaining secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane and emphasize how crucial such protection is for both regional security and economic stability, according to the source.
The diplomatic source noted that Fidan is anticipated to “state that permanently resolving the conflict in the Gulf is the most urgent priority and exchange views on diplomatic initiatives to achieve this.”
Turkey and Qatar maintain robust diplomatic relationships and collaborate across multiple sectors including energy and military defense. Turkey operates a military installation in Qatar and has been discussing with Doha the potential purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft through a British-brokered deal.
