Erdoğan humiliates Qatar’s Tamim by bringing his security detail to Doha,

Amira al-Sharif

In what amounts to a humiliation to Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan brought with him his own security detail to Doha during his latest visit to the Qatari capital.

Ahead of Erdoğan’s visit, Turkish troops deployed in Qatar took over the responsibility of securing the Qatari capital, including the security of Doha International Airport.

Social media was awash with photos of Erdoğan arriving in Doha, while Qatari government officials moving obediently behind him. This violates diplomatic protocol in all countries.

Meanwhile, social media users were angry and asked about who rules Qatar in factual terms.

The Turkish opposition site, Turkey Now, referred to the presence of the Turkish minister of defense and minister of finance among the delegation accompanying Erdoğan during his visit to Doha.

It said the Turkish president brought the intelligence minister and the economy minister with him to the Qatari capital.

Erdoğan’s latest meeting with Tamim was his 26th with the Qatari ruler in five years.

According to media reports, the latest talks between the two focused on means of rescuing the Turkish lira which keeps losing value against all foreign currencies.

Erdoğan also reportedly demanded financial support from the Qatari ruler to maintain his country’s response to Covid-19, having run into one failure after another in fighting the disease. The Turkish president also needed support to mitigate the effects of the economic crisis in his country on his people.

Talks between the two also focused on means of offering support to the Muslim Brotherhood militias, especially in Libya.

Turkey has been actively training and sending mercenaries to Libya to back the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord. Qatar provides the necessary funding for these operations.