Qatar has thrown its weight behind Turkey’s military offensive against Kurdish militia in Syria, coming to the defence of the “national security” of one of its closest allies. Turkey’s offensive is complicated by the United States’ relationship with the YPG, which it relied on to help oust Islamic State jihadists from their Syrian strongholds. “The developments around Afrin reaffirm the need to rebuild and restore the concept of Arab national security,” Gargash tweeted. “Without that, the Arabs will be marginalised.”Turkey has a military base in Qatar and both countries have been unstinting in their opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was the first foreign leader to phone Erdogan during Turkey’s failed coup in July 2016.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 23, 2018 14:37 UTC