Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar on Sunday met with Qatari Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.Ghanim Bin Shaheen al-Ghanim in Istanbul.

A bilateral agreement regarding the deployment of Turkish soldiers in Qatar was ratified in Parliament on June 7.

The aim of joint military exercises is to strengthen coordination and cooperation between Turkey and Qatar, which are members of the anti-Daesh coalition.

Since the beginning of the Qatar row with other Gulf and Arab countries, Ankara has been calling on all sides to solve the issue through dialogue. The crisis began on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt and several other states cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups. Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani strongly rejects the accusations and insists that Qatar fights terrorism relentlessly.