Dubai: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, Interior Minister Prince Mohammad Bin Nayef Al Saud and the head of the General Intelligence Directorate Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Abdul Aziz have arrived in Qatar on a short visit, Saudi media reported on Wednesday afternoon.
No details were given about the visit that had not been announced earlier, but observers believe it is linked to the much-anticipated report by a technical committee set up by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the wake of the April 17 Riyadh Agreement to settle a diplomatic row between Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one side and Qatar on the other.
Manama, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have pulled their ambassadors out of Doha to protest against what they said were unacceptable attitudes by Qatar that were not compatible with the spirit and objectives of the GCC, the bloc that also includes Kuwait and Oman.
The GCC foreign ministers are scheduled to hold a crucial meeting in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah on Saturday. The ministers are currently studying the final report prepared by a technical committee tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement regarding the diplomatic row with Qatar.
“The process over the Qatar case and the steps for the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement are continuing,” Abdul Lateef Al Zayani, the GCC Secretary General said in Manama where he is attending a Gulf youth workshop.
Ominous note
However, more than four months after the accord, reports are claiming that there has been no progress in the talks between Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one side and Qatar on the other.
Media reports cited Gulf diplomats as saying that Kuwait and Oman, the other two countries making up the GCC, were deploying last minute efforts to reach a compromise ahead of the Saturday meeting.
A daily in Kuwait on Wednesday reported that Gulf diplomats have sounded an ominous note for the future of the unprecedented diplomatic row. “There are real difficulties as regards the row between Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one side and Qatar on the other,” the diplomats said. “In fact, the situation is likely to escalate,” the sources who were not named said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Rai.
Even as the diplomatic row continues, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a statement: “It is clear and obvious that those targeting the UAE are setting the Arab world on fire. This narrow circle is well known and realises that the UAE has a clear approach that is disturbing for it.”
I reiterate my questions: “Where are the past rumours and where is the evidence that supports them? How did these rumourmongers go on to spread more and more rumours? Do they have any credibility outside their narrow circle? I doubt it. The painful part is when the rumour is started by a brother.”
