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QNA/Reuters
DOHA/ ISTANBUL
Turkey sent its first ship carrying food supplies to Qatar and dispatched a small contingent of soldiers and armoured vehicles on Thursday, while President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Saudi Arabia's leaders on calming tension in the region.
The first Turkish ship carrying some 4,000 tonnes of dry food supplies, fruit and vegetables set off from a port in western Turkey's Izmir province at dawn on Thursday, state-run Anadolu news agency said. The ship was expected to arrive in Doha in around 10 days.
Five armoured vehicles and 23 military personnel arrived in Doha on Thursday as part of the new deployment plans, Turkey's armed forces said in a statement, adding that the move was in the framework of legal measures regarding military training and cooperation between the two countries. Some 88 Turkish soldiers were already in Qatar, according to the Hurriyet newspaper.
Sources said the Turkish President spoke by phone with Saudi Arabia's King Salman and new crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, congratulating the latter on his promotion.
"Agreement was reached on increasing efforts towards ending tension in the region related to Qatar," the sources said.
Meanwhile, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said countries besieging Qatar will present a list of demands in the next few days through Kuwait.
The list will include Saudi, Emirati, Bahraini and Egyptian demands, Kalin said, adding that Ankara will follow up on the matter.
He added that the role that Saudi Arabia will play in lessening the severity of the dispute with Qatar and solving it through peaceful means is important.
