Days after attacking Ottoman legacy, UAE targets Turkey again
As anger over the insult of a famous Ottoman-era commander subsides, a UAE diplomat has added more inflammatory comments.
UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash is seen in this undated file photo.
A senior UAE diplomat said on Wednesday the Arab world would not be led by Turkey, the Gulf State's first comment on Ankara since a dispute broke out last week over a retweet by the Emirati foreign minister.
Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates said there was a need for Arab countries to rally around the "Arab axis" of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
"The sectarian and partisan view is not an acceptable alternative, and the Arab world will not be led by Tehran or Ankara," he wrote on his official Twitter page.
النظام العربي في مأزق والحل في التعاضد و التكاتف والتعاون أمام الأطماع الإقليمية المحيطة، المنظور الطائفي والحزبي ليس بالبديل المقبول، والعالم العربي لن تقوده طهران أو أنقره بل عواصمه مجتمعة.
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) December 27, 2017
This comes after a dispute, which started when UAE Foreign Minister, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, shared a retweet accusing Fahreddin Pasha – an Ottoman governor of Medina from 1916 to 1919 – of committing crimes against the local population and stealing their property.
In response, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out against UAE.
"Some impertinent man sinks low and goes as far as accusing our ancestors of thievery ... What spoiled this man? He was spoiled by oil, by the money he has," he said at an awards ceremony.
The Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed al Nahyan, tried to attack and tarnish the legacy of the Ottoman Empire, and this was President Erdogan’s response:
Posted by TRT World on Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin criticised Zayed for retweeting a "propaganda lie that seeks to turn Turks [and] Arabs against one another."
It is a shame that @ABZayed, FM of UAE, retweets this propaganda lie that seeks to turn Turks & Arabs against one another, again. It was Fahreddin Pasha who bravely defended Madina against the British plans then. Is attacking President Erdoğan at all costs the new fashion now? https://t.co/E9o4u7aSCH
— Ibrahim Kalin (@ikalin1) December 19, 2017
Acting UAE ambassador Hawla Ali al-Shamsi was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry. The diplomat was informed of Turkey's concern over the post retweeted by Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Nicknamed "Lion of the Desert" for his bravery, Pasha defended the Muslim holy city from Arab tribes, which had aligned with the British forces against the Ottomans.
Upon arriving in Medina the first thing he did was to send the holy relics and some manuscripts in the city to Istanbul, so that they would not fall into enemy hands.
Close to 500 manuscripts are currently displayed in the Medina Library of Topkapi Palace.
Turkey's Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday that Turkey planned to rename the street where the UAE embassy is located in Ankara after Fakhreddin Pasha.
Gargash's comments came as Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was on an official trip to Saudi Arabia.
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