Erdoğan to discuss Qatar crisis with US President Trump
Recep Tayyip Erdou011fan (L) shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room where they issued a joint statement following their meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 16 May 2017 (EPA Photo)


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will speak with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump and discuss Qatar crisis in the upcoming days, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Tuesday.

Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Maldives, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen's internationally backed government and one of Libya's three governments cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations that the Gulf nation funds militant groups – charges Doha calls baseless.

Several other Muslim nations also downgraded their diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Turkey has maintained good relations with Qatar as well as several of its Gulf Arab neighbors. Turkey and Qatar have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed the opposition fighting to overthrow Syria's Bashar Assad.

Although the U.S. State Department called for de-escalation in the Qatar row, Trump has publicly backed the Arab states' sanctions against Qatar.