Turkey-Arab relations 'not in best state': UAE official

The UAE's foreign minister said on Saturday that Turkey's policies in the Arab region are not reasonable and should seek to respect the country's sovereignty, Reuters reported. 

“It is no secret that Arab-Turkish relations aren’t in their best state,” tweeted Anwar Gargash.

“In order to return to balance, Ankara has to respect Arab sovereignty and deal with its neighbours with wisdom and rationality,” he added.

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Relations between Turkey and the UAE have been tense due to Ankara's support for Qatar following the decision of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to cut diplomatic relations with Doha last summer.

All four Arab states accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and backing regime change - charges Doha denies.

The UAE sees Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's AK party as an ideological kin of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist parties it opposes. 

Last month, Turkey said it hoped to boost trade volume with Qatar to $5 billion annually as part of the two countries' burgeoning relations.

In December, bilateral relations deteoriated after the UAE's foreign minister retweeted a post that Ottoman troops looted Medina 102 years ago.

“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,” Erdogan responded.

With Ankara and Khartoum set to build a military base on Sudan's Suakin Island, tensions between Turkey and the UAE are set to rise further. 

But economic ties between the two countries has so far prevented a full-blown crisis. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are Turkey's top two export partners.