Turkey’s minister of foreign affairs, who has completed his talks in Iraq, proceeded to capital Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.
Upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the accompanying delegation had to wait at the airport for two hours due to a protocol crisis.
Davutoglu, who was greeted at the airport by UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, headed for the city centre accompanied by the Turkish ambassador, however, the minister later returned to the airport as he was informed that members of his delegation were not allowed to leave the airport due to a problem concerning his bodyguards’ wireless devices and weapons.
The crisis stemmed from the lack of communication between UAE’s ministries of interior and foreign affairs, as the foreign ministry failed to inform the interior ministry regarding the weapon licenses of Davutoglu’s bodyguards, officials said.
Minister Davutoglu did not leave the airport until the conflict was solved and UAE’s Foreign Minister Abdallah bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan called Davutoglu several times to apologize for the crisis, officials added.
Speaking to reporters after the incident, Davutoglu said, “This is a depressing situation and nobody should be treated this way. It is especially upsetting that such an attitude was displayed against Turkey and the Turkish minister of foreign affairs. It was all wrong”.
Davutoglu later proceeded to the Emirates Hotel where he was visited by UAE’s Foreign Minister Al Nuhayyan.
Expressing his sorrow over the incident, UAE’s minister said that those responsible for the crisis would be punished in the harshest way.
As part of his visit to Abu Dhabi, Davutoglu will hold a series of talks with officials from UAE, including the country’s foreign minister, on Monday.
Bilateral relations and regional issues will be on the agenda of the talks, officials said.
Later in the day, Davutoglu is expected to proceed to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh where he will exchange views with officials on his recent talks in Iraq.
AA
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