Erdogan wins re-election as president with nearly 53% of the votes. He now enjoys sweeping new powers gained from the passage of a referendum he led last year, including the abolishment of the position of prime minister.

Turkish-backed forces take full control of Syrian-Kurdish city of Afrin, which was held by a Kurdish militia Turkey considers a terrorist group.

President Erdogan wins by razor-thin margins in a referendum to expand his powers, with 51.3% of the votes in favor while 48.7% of the votes oppose the action. This change allows the winner of the 2019 presidential election to essentially embrace total control of the government and accordingly terminating the current parliamentary political system.  

Turkish authorities arrest the main suspect in the New Year’s Eve attack on Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Abdulkadir Masharipov. The Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attack, justifying it as revenge for Turkish military involvement in Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declares a three-month state of emergency as a way to obtain special powers to pass laws as officials investigate individuals suspected of an attempted coup. Prior to this declaration came the removal and suspension of thousands of soldiers, educators and civil servants allegedly complicit in the coup.

The government of Qatar is taking the United Arab Emirates to the UN International Court of Justice over what it describes as human rights violations, according to the official Qatar News Agency.

Emir Tamim bin Hamad al Thani of Qatar meets with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House to discuss the Gulf crisis.

Saudi Arabia permanently closes its land border with Qatar.

The annual GCC summit, originally scheduled for two days, ends just a few hours after it begins. Of the six countries, only the heads of state of Kuwait and Qatar were present, with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE only sending ministers and deputy prime ministers to the meeting.

Qatar announces visa-free entry for citizens from 80 countries in order to to encourage tourism and air transport during the blockade as part of an effort to make Qatar the most open country in the region.