Erdogan regime tries to strike at Gulf unity again through lies and rumors

Ahmed Adel

Turkey continues to stir strife among the countries of the Arab Gulf region, with the aim of creating a footstep for the scheme of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), along with his terrorist Brotherhood ally, to break up the affinity of Arab Gulf countries.

Turkish writer Ibrahim Karagul posted a tweet on Monday, July 27, claiming that his country has concluded an agreement with the Sultanate of Oman with the goal of establishing a military base.

Karagul continued to allege that Erdogan has succeeded in tightening his grip on the region by dominating the Red Sea through a military base in Somalia, in addition to the Gulf through a base to be established in Oman under the agreement with the Omani authorities, after a Turkish base was established in Qatar.

While the statements exposed Erdogan’s expansive and colonial ideology, they also revealed that his media machine is based on spreading and promoting rumors and lies, with the aim of maintaining the Turkish president’s popularity, which has been weakened and endangered due to his sadistic policies.

In the same context, Turkish military expert Akar Hakan claimed on Twitter on Sunday, July 26 that his country is preparing to sign a military treaty with the Sultanate of Oman.

The Yeni Şafak newspaper, which is loyal to the Turkish regime, also talked about a preliminary agreement between Ankara and Muscat to establish a naval base on the Arabian Gulf, after establishing a base in Somalia on the Red Sea, in order to control the gates of the Indian Ocean.

Omani denial

However, on Tuesday, July 28, Omani media and political analyst Ahmed Al-Shezawi denounced the claims that Turkey was establishing a military base in the Omani governorate of Buraimi, which borders the UAE.

Shezawi said that the circulated rumors are not based on any official or documented source, describing those who talk about this issue as wrong and aiming to cause strife.

“How can a naval base be established in Buraimi, which is a desert region?” he asked, noting that Buraimi does not constitute a strategic region in need of military bases.

Shezawi considered that the rumors regarding the base “fall within the framework of similar news issued in recent years and within the framework of the media war and an attempt to stir up sedition,” adding that all parties seek to use the Oman as a pressure card in this media war.

He pointed out that there have not been any Omani-Turkish political or military meetings, except for the meeting of the Secretary General of the Omani Foreign Ministry and the Assistant Foreign Minister of Turkey, but their discussions were related to economic, social and cultural aspects.

“But this does not negate the existence of military cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and Turkey,” Shezawi said, pointing out that the issue of establishing a Turkish base in Oman has been raised for a year or two and there had been news that Turkey applied to establish a base near the border with Yemen, but there has been nothing official.

It is worth noting that Erdogan, in a telephone conversation with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said in May 2020, discussed regional issues and bilateral relations, according to a statement issued at the time by the communications office of the Turkish presidency, but nothing was mentioned about establishing a military base in the sultanate.