Manama: Military action has never been considered in the dispute with Qatar, nor will it be pondered, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt said in a joint statement issued early on Friday.
The Quartet that broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar on June 5 over its support for extremists and funding of terrorism made the assertion following a statement by Kuwait’s Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad in Washington where he held a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Shaikh Sabah was quoted as saying that “it is important that we succeeded in preventing any military action during the Gulf crisis.”
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Everything you need to know about the Qatar crisis
The four countries, in their statement, said they “regret the Emir of Kuwait’s statement about the success of the mediation in stopping the military option and emphasise that the military option was not and will not be on the table in any case.”
They insisted there would be no dialogue with Qatar if prior conditions are set.
“Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt said that while they appreciate the mediation of His Highness the Emir of Kuwait and his commendable efforts in re-retaking the Qatari authorities to the right path as well as his statement about Qatar's willingness to recognise the 13 demands and its readiness to negotiate, they stress that the dialogue on the implementation of the demands should not be pre-conditioned,” said the statement carried by Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
“The statements by Qatar's foreign minister following those by HH the Emir of Kuwait, confirm Qatar's rejection of dialogue unless the boycott measures taken by the four countries to protect their interests legally and politically are lifted.”
Lack of seriousness
The Quartet added that the preconditions set by the minister confirm Qatar's lack of seriousness about holding a dialogue, combating and putting an end to financing terrorism and interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries, they said.
“The crisis with Qatar is not a dispute confined to the Gulf, but in fact it extends to numerous Arab and Islamic countries that have declared their stance regarding Qatar’s interference in domestic affairs and support for terrorism,” the Quartet said.
Around the world
“The crisis also extends to many other countries around the world that have been unable to declare their position because of Qatar’s internal penetration in their societies, which made them concerned about possible consequences, especially that Qatar has precedents in supporting coups and in funding terrorism, extremist ideology and hate speech.”
The four countries commended US President Donald Trump’s stance and firm assertion that the only way to resolve the crisis is to put an end to supporting and financing terrorism, as well as his unwillingness to resolve the crisis unless such a way is achieved.
