Bahrain Mirror- Reuters: Turkey is not taking sides in a dispute between Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbours, Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday during a Gulf tour, according to Arabic media reports.

"Turkey stands on the same distance from Qatar and Saudi Arabia," Kuwait's Arabic language al-Qabas newspaper quoted the minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, as telling journalists in Kuwait, where he is on a visit for talks about the crisis.

Qatar-based Al Jazera carried similar remarks.

He said that sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt on Doha over alleged support for terrorism were not right, according to al-Qabas.

Turkey sent its foreign minister to Qatar on Wednesday as part of a drive to repair Qatar's rift with fellow Gulf Arab states.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have broken off ties and imposed sanctions on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and courting regional rival Iran - allegations Doha denies.

"We do not want any differences between our brothers in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, and it is not enough to say that there is a problem without trying to resolve it," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the Qatari news agency QNA on arrival.

He added "Turkey seeks to resolve the unprecedented crisis between brotherly countries in the GCC."

President Tayyip Erdogan has cultivated close ties to Qatar, setting up a military base there, while preserving relations with Saudi Arabia.

Arabic Version