Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Istanbul on Monday to discuss the bilateral relations.
This visit comes after the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi was sentenced for life time in prison and both Qatar and Turkey rejected it.
According to reports, the meeting took place at the historical Huber Mansion in Istanbul’s Tarabya district and was closed to the press.
Turkey and Qatar enjoy strong bilateral relations in addition to close regional ties and share similar views on regional issues.
In April, Ankara and Doha signed a military agreement to deploy Turkish troops at a military base in Qatar to confront common enemies in the region.
Turkey’s military base in Qatar is expected to be its first overseas military installation in the Middle East with 3,000 ground troops to be stationed.
Morsi trial, Turkey and Qatar rejection
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned mention of Qatar’s name in the verdict issued yesterday by Cairo Criminal Court in the case known as ‘Qatar espionage’ and the unjust sentences against President Mohamed Morsi and others.
Director of The Information Office at the Ministry, Ambassador Ahmed Al Rumaihi said: “It is not surprising for us to see such verdicts reached by Egyptian courts, especially that during the past two years more than 1,000 people received death sentences and life imprisonment, to be later overturned by Egyptian Courts of Cassation.”
“Though it is not final, the verdict is unfounded, goes against truth and contains misleading claims which are contrary to the policy of the State of Qatar towards all sister countries, including Egypt.”
Turkey condemned the life sentence handed down by Egypt Saturday to former President Mohamed Morsi, said an official statement.
“We express our deep concern and condemn the life imprisonment given to President Morsi who has remained in prison since 2013,” said a statement posted on the Turkish Foreign Ministry website.
“We believe that this decision will not contribute to Egypt’s peace and stability”.
Morsi, along with 10 co-defendants, were accused by Egypt’s army-backed authorities of spying for Qatar and leaking classified documents to the Gulf statelet during his single year as president.
During Saturday’s trial session, the court confirmed the death penalty against six defendants, including two Al-Jazeera journalists, for allegedly spying for Qatar.
The court also sentenced Morsi to life on charges of leading a terrorist group – in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, which was blacklisted by the Egyptian authorities in late 2013.
Two other aides to the former president were slapped with a life sentence each in the same case.
