By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA

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 them 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 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 defuse tensions, Kalin reiterated Turkey's sadness over the incident, and said it stood ready help if needed.

Erdogan held phone calls with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, presidential sources said.