Manama: The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said that Qatar was aware of what it should do to solve the crisis that has hit the Gulf.
“The solution to the crisis lies with the brothers in Qatar. They know best what they must do,” Adel Al Jubeir, Saudi foreign minister, said in Kuwait on the sidelines of a conference that brought together donors and investors gathered to consider ways to rebuild Iraq’s economy and infrastructure.
“The position of the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] and the other three countries is clear. Our principles are no to terrorism, no to its financing, no to support of extremism and hatred, and no to interfere in the affairs of other countries. These are principles that the countries of the world agree upon, and we expect the brothers in Qatar to respond to our demands and proposals,” he said, quoted by Kuwaiti daily Al Rai on Thursday.
Bahrain’s foreign minister, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa, representing the kingdom at the conference in Kuwait, said that questions about the end of the crisis should be addressed to Qatar. “The ball is in their field,” he said.
Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off their diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar on June 5 last year after they charged it with funding extremists and supporting terrorism.
The four countries issued a list of 13 demands and asked Qatar to implement them. However, Qatar rejected the demands.
Kuwait, a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that also comprises Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been mediating in the worst crisis to hit the alliance since it was established in 1981.
However, no breakthrough or incremental success has been achieved and there is no solution to the crisis in sight.
In comments about the Iranian role in Iraq, Al Jubeir warned that Tehran’s interference posed “a threat to Iraq and to its unity, stability and security,” stressing that the Iranian presence in Iraq was destructive and not constructive.
The Saudi minister pointed out the danger of “the emergence of terrorist organisations from the womb of Daesh” after the terror group was eliminated in Iraq and its influence curbed in Syria.
“Daesh was defeated in Iraq and it will be defeated in Syria, but the group is changing and moving to other areas,” he said.
