Dubai:  The UAE has renewed calls to Qatar to stop supporting extremism and terrorism, stressing that the only way  out of the current crisis is through diplomacy. 

“At heart of current crisis in Gulf is Qatar’s support for extremism & terrorism. Change of course only  solution for the sake of stability,” Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammad Gargash said in a
tweet.

 

 

“Diplomacy only way forward. Process can only work following clear indication that Qatar will stop support  and finance of extremism & terrorism,” Gargash said in another tweet.

List of extremists and terrorists supported and financed by Qatar is a serious allegation that has to be addressed. Many of these are UN and US sanctioned entities, he tweeted.

Bahrain, meanwhile, stressed the need for Qatar’s commitment to correct its policies and to engage in a  transparent manner in counter-terrorism efforts. 

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt Friday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s warning to Qatar to
stop what he called funding of terrorism at “a very high level.” 

UAE ambassador to the United States Yousuf Al Otaiba said in a statement carried by WAM “the next step is for Qatar to acknowledge these concerns and commit to reexamine its regional policies… This will provide the necessary basis for any discussions.” 

Also, a Saudi official source was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying, “Fighting terrorism and extremism is no longer a choice, but rather a commitment that calls for a decisive and swift action to cut off all funding sources for terrorism regardless of the funding entities, in line with the outcomes of the historic Arab-Islamic-American summit,” held last month in Saudi Arabia.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for talks to solve the crisis. “As a matter of policy we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries or their bilateral relations with each other. But it does not give us joy when relations between our partners deteriorate,” Lavrov told Qatar’s Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.