Abu Dhabi: UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash on Saturday urged Turkey to stop interfering in Arab affairs, making a referring to the Ottoman empire which collapsed a century ago.
The backlash came after Turkey spoke of so-called “malicious” actions by the UAE in Libya, where the two countries support opposing sides in its grinding conflict. Gargash called on Turkey “to stop intervening in Arab affairs”.
Turkey can no longer behave like “the Sublime Porte and use the language of colonialism”, he said, referring to the government of the Ottoman empire which ruled the Arab world for centuries.
“The Sublime Porte and colonialist illusions belong to the archives of history... and relations between states are not conducted with threats,” Gargash wrote.
Earlier, Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar made offensive comments in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera saying that “Abu Dhabi does what it does in Libya, does what it does in Syria. All of it is being recorded. At the right place and time, the accounts will be settled.” Qatar and Turkey are close allies, and Al Jazeera adopts a pro-Turkish line.
