Dubai: The UAE warned Qatar Monday it could not belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council if it undermined regional security, calling for a “change of behaviour” but not “regime change”.
Speaking at the Chatham House, international affairs think tank in London, Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, reiterated that the country funds terrorists. “This is our message: You cannot be part of a regional organisation dedicated to strengthening mutual security and furthering mutual interest and at the same time undermine that security,” he said.
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“You cannot be both our friend and a friend of Al Qaida.”
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions on Doha on June 5 for supporting terrorism.
“We’ve sent a message to Qatar. We’ve said we are not there to escalate. We are not after regime change. We are after a change of behaviour,” Gargash said.
“We need to do that and when we do that, come back to the fold and we can work together,” he said. Regarding the possibility of Qatar being excluded from the GCC, Gargash said: “The GCC is in crisis and I don’t think it serves our purposes to say let’s take Qatar out.”
Gargash said the four Arab powers were in the process of discussing additional sanctions on Doha. “There will be some tightening of the screws,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the event.
