Turkey calls for dialogue to solve Qatar row

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman on Monday called for dialogue and negotiation among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) after some of its members severed diplomatic relations with Qatar for national security concerns.

Earlier on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen cut links with Qatar, in the worst rift in years among some of the major states in the Arab world.

Ibrahim Kalin said in a written statement that "the members of the GCC, with whom Turkey is in a strategic business alliance, should solve their problems through negotiation, dialogue, and communication".

Noting that Erdogan had launched diplomatic efforts to solve the rift, Kalin reiterated Turkey's sadness over the incident, and said it was ready to fulfill its responsibilities in the upcoming period.