Dubai: Qatar should reconsider its options wisely and appreciate that no “foreign” mediation or any form of pressure will help it out of its crisis that started exactly 11 months ago, a UAE senior official has said.
“Here’s an honest advice to help Qatar out of its crisis,” Dr Anwar Gargash, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, has posted on his Twitter account.
All you need to know about Qatar crisis
“There will be no mediation other than that of the Gulf, and no form of pressure will have any effect and the media will not change your situation. Go back to your senses because your crisis is continuing. Apply wisdom and negotiate within the frame of the demands issued by your neighbours and which express genuine concerns,” he posted to his 745,000 followers.
The tweet by Gargash this week confirms that Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt that cut off their diplomatic, commerce and travel links with Qatar on June 5 are determined to ensure that the crisis will be addressed only through a Gulf perspective.
The Quartet accused Qatar of supporting extremists and funding terrorism and issued a list of 13 demands to iron out differences and resolve the crisis.
However, Qatar denied the charges and rejected the demands which include closing down their pan-Arab news channel Al Jazeera and hosting senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Various spats in the past with Qatar ended with a commitment by Doha to address the concerns of its neighbours, however, it has repeatedly reneged on its promises.
Mediation efforts exerted by Kuwait, and supported by the US, have failed to make any breakthrough in the standstill.
While Qatar has given the impression of looking for an international mediation, the Quartet has repeatedly said that it would consider only a Gulf settlement of the crisis.
Statements by Mike Pompeo, on his maiden trip as US secretary of state to the region about a united Gulf to help in confronting Iran’s nuclear deal have not, so far, changed the premises on the ground despite much media trumpeting.
Pompeo left it to the Gulf countries and Egypt to address the crisis.
“We’re hopeful that they will in their own way figure out their dispute between them,” he said.
