Abu Dhabi: Four Arab countries, engaged in a bitter row with Qatar, are set to present their case to the world aviation body, confirming their right to close their airspaces to the Gulf emirate.
The move comes after the International Court of Justice Tuesday ruled that the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has jurisdiction to address Qatar’s civil aviation allegations against the UAE and the three other countries.
The UAE said that it will now put its legal case to ICAO, supporting its right to close its airspace to Qatari aircraft.
“The ICJ’s decision was technical and limited to procedural issues and jurisdiction to address the dispute; it did not consider the merits of the case,” Hissa Abdullah Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the Netherlands, said.
“We have the highest respect for the Court and will be looking at its decision closely. There are important points in the judgment that the UAE and the quartet will rely on in proceedings before the ICAO Council,” the diplomat added, according to WAM.
“We note that other important questions have been left unanswered by the judgment; issues that we will address in front of the ICAO Council. We look forward to explaining to the ICAO Council that the UAE restricted Qatari planes from UAE airspace as one of a number of measures flowing from the termination of relations by 10 states, including the UAE,” Al Otaiba said.
“This was in response to Qatar’s longstanding support for terrorist and extremist groups and its active steps to promote unrest in the region. The UAE believes that the Council will not attempt to second-guess the national security decisions of ICAO member states. In the meantime, the UAE’s airspace measures remain in effect.”
The ambassador reiterated that relations with Qatar will only improve when Doha shows willingness to demonstrate that it will play a” constructive role” in the region.
In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic and transportation links with Qatar over its support for extremist groups.
The four countries have repeatedly demanded Doha to comply with a set of conditions to end the standoff. The demands include Qatar’s severance of links with militant and terror groups, scaling down ties with Iran and shutting down Al Jazeera TV, seen as a mouthpiece of the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Qatar has refused the conditions, saying they violate its sovereignty.
