Erdogan's Ploys to Ensnare Qatar

Qatar has begun to view the unusual ties between their country and Ankara as unequal, and feel Turkey is exploiting Qatar for its wealth after encouraging it to isolate from its Arab Gulf environment. 

Qataris have suggested that upcoming agreements between the two countries could be part of Turkey’s attempt to ensnare Qatar so that it is completely bound to its relationship with Ankara. By signing such agreements, they say, Qatar will be unable to change course in the future and relieve the large financial burden it bears due to its relationship with Turkey and involvement in foreign conflicts that Doha may lose interest in.

Turkey’s extensive economic and financial cooperation with Qatar reveals the extent to which the leading Justice and Development Party (AKP), headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is relying on Qatari gas funds to help ease its economic crisis.

The Turkish government has employed two primary strategies to access and exploit Qatari wealth. The first is obtaining aid and Qatari financial grants, some of which are public while others are secret. These are obtained under the guise of paying Qatar’s contribution in support of Islamist allies who are fighting in conflicts in the region, especially in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan.

The second way Turkey is extorting Qatar is binding Doha to treaties and cooperation agreements in various fields. Most of these agreements are somewhat unfair, only benefiting Turkey by attracting Qatari capital to invest in Turkey or activate commercial exchanges, which usually mean exporting Turkish goods to Qatar.

There are also defence and security agreements, under which Turkey sends its forces to Qatari territory in exchange for agreed sums of money. Qatar fully bears the expenses of these forces, paying for their salaries, transportation and accommodation costs.

In recent years, the Turkish president has come under increasing pressure as the opposition blames him for the country’s deteriorating economic conditions.

Economists in the country and elsewhere have not hidden their concerns, with some of them branding the crisis “a great catastrophe.”