Manama: The decision by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to recall their ambassadors from Qatar was taken after Qatar deliberately took action deemed contrary to the spirit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and detrimental to its security, the head of a Saudi think tank said.
“The decision is a non-verbal warning since Saudi Arabia had earlier warned Qatar orally,” Anwar Ashqi, the head of the Middle East Centre for Strategic and Legal Studies, said. “Qatar has also [engaged in] activities that were harmful to pan-Arab security. For instance, in Yemen, it supports the Houthis with funds, and the Islah with funds as well, and makes them fight each other,” he said in remarks posted by news website Sabq on Wednesday.
Ashqi said that Kuwait did not join the other three GCC countries in pulling out its ambassador in order to allow a gateway through which Qatar could make a comeback after it commits itself to the agreements within the GCC.
“The security of the GCC is at the same time the security of the Arab world and anything that targets it means that all Arab countries are targeted,” he said.
Ashqi said that the recall of the ambassadors was the result of several issues, including divergent views between Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“What happened does not mean a break between the three countries and Qatar, but it is definitely more than just a verbal cautioning,” he added.
Ashqi said that Qatar could risk “unbearable isolation” if it persisted on its policies in Egypt and Yemen that harmed Gulf and Arab security.
