Turkey is not at all considering the closure of its military base in Qatar despite the demand for its immediate termination from the Arab nations blockading the Qataris, Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on June 23.

Speaking hours after mediator Kuwait presented Qatar with a 13-point list of demands from the nations led by Saudi Arabia, Isik said: “If there is such a demand, it will mean interference in bilateral ties.”

Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on Turkey’s agenda, Isik said, adding that he had not seen the demand.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have also demanded that the Gulf state shut down its broadcaster Al Jazeera and reduce ties with Iran.

The four countries have cut off diplomatic, air, sea and road links to Qatar in a row over the peninsular nations alleged support for terrorist organisations and political accommodation of Tehran. Both Turkey and Iran have been supplying Qatar with food shipments and allowing diversions of Qatari Airways flights through their airspace to help relieve the crisis that the blockade has caused.

On a separate note, defence minister Isik said Turkey was offering to set up a joint mechanism with Washington to retrieve arms sent to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia by the US after the battle for Islamic State “capital” Raqqa in Syria is over, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

In a letter sent to Isik, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis assured Turkey that it will take back weapons supplied to the Kurdish group after the defeat of Islamic State in Syria.

“I will discuss the issue with Mattis on June 28 on the sidelines of a Nato meeting in Brussels,” Isik reportedly said on June 23.

“The letter Mattis sent was positive in terms of the US taking into account the concerns Turkey has regarding the YPG. It’s important that they are making a written commitment,” Isik said.

Ankara sees the YPG as a terrorist organisation because of the group’s links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought insurgency campaigns against Turkey.