One day before the foreign ministers of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt hold a meeting in Cairo to discuss the future of the crisis with Qatar, the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs reiterated his warning that Doha would face divorce.
نحن أمام مفصل تاريخي لا علاقة له بالسيادة، جوهره نهج الجماعة وإلتزاماتها، فإما أن نحرص على المشترك ونمتنع عن تقويضه وهدمه، وإما الفراق.
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) July 4, 2017
“We are at a crucial historic crossroads that has nothing to do with sovereignty and with a common approach and common commitments at its core,” Anwar Gargash said on his Twitter account.
“The choices are either we take care of the common features and we refrain from undermining or destroying them or we go our separate ways,” he posted to his 410,000 followers on the microblog.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, said that Arab countries boycotting Qatar over its support to terrorism were still awaiting a response to their demands via mediator Kuwait.
UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Shaikh Abdallah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel during a news conference at the UAE's Foreign Ministry in Abu Dhabi. AFP
“I think it is premature to talk about extra sanctions ... this depends on what we will hear from our brothers in Kuwait,” Shaikh Abdullah said at a press conference with his German counterpart Sigmar H. Gabriel, in Abu Dhabi.
Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Adel Al Jubeir expressed the hope of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt that the response of the brothers in Qatar to the demands of the four countries is positive, so that ‘’we can reach a solution to this crisis’’.
Building the best relations
“The four countries are keen to build the best relations with our brothers in Qatar and that the aim of the measures that have been taken is to change the policies of Qatar which we consider to be detrimental to Qatar, the countries of the region and the world, Al Jubeir stressed as quoted by Saudi Press Agency.
‘’Then, we will take the appropriate attitude towards them," he added.
Speaking during a joint press conference with the German foreign minister a day earlier, Al Jubeir termed their talks as ‘fruitful and constructive’.
The Saudi minister said that they had discussed a range of issues and ways of consolidating the relationship between the two countries, in addition to regional issues including the latest developments in Palestine, Yemen, Iraq and Syria.
Stop terror finance
On Qatar, the minister said the two sides agreed that Doha should stop financing of terrorism and extremism and of refraining from spreading hatred and interference in the affairs of neighbouring countries.
For his part, the German foreign minister expressed support for the efforts of Kuwait in the mediation of the Gulf to reach a solution that serves the good relations between the GCC countries and ensure the stability of the region in general from terrorism and financing, pointing out to the historical relations between Saudi Arabia and Germany and the mutual interests of the two countries.
