Dr Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, has warned that Qatar and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries could part ways.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Gargash, the most vociferous voice speaking out on behalf of the GCC over the open crisis with Qatar, said that divorce was a strong option as Doha kept engaging in political adolescence instead of addressing the concerns raised by its fellow GCC members Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The countries have reportedly submitted a list of demands to Qatar in order to end the crisis.
Qatar, yet again, undermining opportunity to address concerns about its support for extremism & terrorism & undermining regional stability.
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) June 23, 2017
Qatar leaking demands/ concerns of its neighbors & Egypt either attempt to undermine serious mediation or yet another sign of callous policy
— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) June 23, 2017
However, the demands have been leaked out to the media, reportedly by Qatar, drawing sharp criticism.
“Qatar leaking demands and concerns of its neighbours and Egypt are either an attempt to undermine serious mediation or are yet another sign of callous policy,” Gargash tweeted in English.
“The leakage will further exasperate and prolong the Qatar crisis. Undermining serious diplomacy will lead to parting of ways.”
In tweets in Arabic, he said that the Qatari leakage was “a teenager move that we are used to seeing in the brother.”
“It would have been wiser to deal seriously with the demands and concerns of the neighbours. Otherwise, a divorce is bound to happen.”
Gargash has been using the term “brother” in his tweets to refer to Qatar.
“The options for the brother are clear: Does he opt for his surroundings, stability and prosperity or will he choose mirage and duality and isolate himself from his surroundings? Perhaps the solution is in the separation of paths?”
Gargash in another tweet insisted that the crisis was real, but Qatar’s behaviour and confused management of the situation were compounding the situation and could lead to Qatar left out of the Gulf alliance set up in 1981.
The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Since its establishment, no new members joined and no founding members left or were kicked out.
“The security of the region is at stake. Clarity is the best option for all of us and divorce is sometimes a choice,” Gargash said.
“The brother must realize that the solution to his crisis is not in Tehran, Beirut or Ankara, or in the capitals of the West or in the media. The solution is that the neighbours resume their trust in him.”
Since Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE severed their diplomatic relations with Qatar on June 5 and closed their airspace, airports and seaports to planes and ships registered in Qatar, Doha has been seeking assistance from Iran, Turkey and other capitals and has been using international media to ease the pressure and blame the other countries.
However, Manama, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been inflexible in their demands to Qatar to change its attitudes and comply with the Riyadh Declaration that it signed in 2014 and which called for ending financial and media support for extremist and terrorist groups.
The UAE official said that Qatar was once more undermining an opportunity to address concerns about its support for extremism and terrorism and undermining regional stability.
“The crisis of the loss of trust in the brother is real, resulting from a trend that ranged from political adolescence to dangerous conspiracy and included systematic support for an extremist agenda and terrorist organisations,” Gargash posted. “The role of the brother as a Trojan horse in the Gulf region, the source of funding, and the media and political platform for the agenda of extremism cannot be accepted.”
There were conditions that Qatar needed to meet, he added.
“There is a price for the years of conspiracy, just like getting reinstated in the neighbourhood has its cost.”
There is no military element to this whatsoever: UAE Ambassador to the US
Meanwhile, UAE Ambassador to the US said that Qatar would remain cut off from its neighbours if it refuses to consent to their list of demands.
Ambassador Yousuf Al Otaiba said the measures taken against Qatar "are there to stay until there is a long-term solution to the issue."
Still, he suggested the actions to pressure Qatar would remain economic and diplomatic. Al Otaiba says "there is no military element to this whatsoever."
The US has offered to help mediate. But Al Otaiba said the Kuwaitis will take the lead. He said it's an Arab issue that requires an Arab solution.
