Turkey’s Erdogan wades into Qatar dispute with Gulf tour

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan wades into the diplomatic crisis gripping Qatar and four other Arab nations on Sunday, traveling to Saudi Arabia at the start of a three-country Gulf tour aimed at helping break the impasse.

Erdogan, whose country has deployed troops to Qatar, is the fifth high-level visitor from outside the Gulf to try to resolve the dispute since it erupted on June 5.

The top diplomats of Britain, France, Germany and the United States have all been through already, underscoring the depth of concern the crisis is causing well beyond the region.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties and transport links with Qatar in early June, accusing it of supporting extremists. Qatar strongly denies the allegation and sees the dispute as politically motivated.

— AP