Doha due in DC, places its trust in Kuwait mediation
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DOHA, June 20, (Agencies): Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said on Monday that he plans to travel to the United States next week to discuss the impact of a rift with Gulf Arab states on its economy and on the fight against terrorism. Sheikh Mohammed also told journalists in Doha that Qatar was ready to engage in a dialogue with other Gulf parties to resolve the crisis based on clear principles and that Doha still believed a solution was possible through Kuwaiti mediation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed his full support to Kuwait’s mediation initiative in the complex Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) situation.
In a press conference held at the UN headquarters, the UN chief expressed concern over the situation, believing that there should be a “regional solution.” “I have followed particularly the efforts of mediation by Kuwait, and I express my support to the Kuwait mediation initiative,” he said. Guterres told the press that he thinks what Kuwait is doing “is the most useful way,” and for the UN to cooperate in trying to address a situation that is complex, the leadership should be a “regional leadership.” “My main concern has been is to try to push for a regional solution and what I have considered as most effective and probable mediator has been Kuwait that has my full support,” he added.
When asked about intervention of other countries to the conflict in order to solve it, he said if countries or entities who have leverage over the parties to the conflict can help, then obviously their efforts will always be welcomed. “I don’t think the UN has a leverage over the parties to the conflict that makes our direct intervention more effective than the support of Kuwaiti mediation,” Guterres stressed.
The United Arab Emirates is calling for a monitoring system to ensure that Qatar respects any future agreement to end the standoff with its Gulf neighbors. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar this month and blocked air, sea and land traffic over its support for Islamist groups and ties with Iran. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in Brussels Tuesday that “we do need to create some sort of monitoring system of Qatar’s obligations.” He said he hoped US and European officials from countries like Britain, France and Germany could take part to ensure that Qatar does not harbor or fund extremists. Gargash said he expects the crisis to drag on because “the Qataris are still in a state of denial.”
Meanwhile, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan discussed on Monday the fight against terrorism, especially its funding and those who provide it with media cover, an apparent criticism of Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic and commercial ties with Qatar two weeks ago, accusing it of supporting terrorism, meddling in their affairs and cosying up to Iran, all of which Doha denies. “Both sides stressed the importance of all Arab states and the international community fighting terrorism, especially stopping the funding of terrorist groups and providing political and media cover,” Sisi’s office said in a statement. The meeting, which took place in Cairo, came hours after Sheikh al- Thani said Doha had not received any demands from its Gulf neighbours and that Qatar’s internal affairs are non-negotiable, including the future of Dohabased channel al Jazeera. The statement did not refer to Qatar or Al Jazeera explicitly. The channel is at the centre of the controversy. Arab rulers accuse Qatar of using its multi-million-dollar franchise as a mouthpiece to attack them. Conservative Gulf neighbours have long viewed Qatar’s foreign policy with suspicion, especially its refusal to shun Shi’ite Iran, and resented Al Jazeera for its readiness to air unwelcome or dissenting views from across the region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE shut down the channel when the rift happened. Egypt views Al Jazeera as critical of its government, and the channel has been banned there since 2013. Al Jazeera says it is an independent news service giving a voice to everyone in the region. Egyptian security forces have arrested several of its reporters and last year a Cairo court recommended the death penalty for two of them, charged in absentia with endangering national security by leaking state secrets to Qatar.
Resolve
The UN Security Council urged Eritrea and Djibouti on Monday to resolve their border dispute peacefully following the withdrawal of peacekeeping troops from Qatar. Djibouti accused Eritrean troops of occupying the Dumeira mountain area shortly after 450 Qatari peacekeepers left last week and lodged a formal complaint with the African Union.
Qatar, which is caught up in its own diplomatic clash with other Arab nations, had mediated a territorial dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea. The Security Council said in a statement after a briefing by Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Taye-Brook Zerihoun that it welcomed the African Union’s intention to deploy a fact-finding mission to the Djibouti border.
Council member said they look forward to coordinating with the AU “to maintain an atmosphere of calm and restraint.” The Security Council said it would also welcome “the consideration of future confidence-building measures” and will continue to follow the situation closely.
The Qatari forces had been deployed on the Djibouti-Eritrean border for seven years to monitor the implementation of a ceasefire agreement signed in Qatar in June 2010 and to pursue a negotiated political settlement. In a statement sent Saturday to The Associated Press, Eritrea’s information ministry said the Horn of Africa nation has not received any explanation from Qatar on its “hasty” withdrawal, which it said occurred “against the backdrop of a turbulent climate.” Eritrea’s top diplomat to the African Union, Araia Desta, said the country has not cut ties with Qatar.
Eritrea has also said it doesn’t want a confrontation with Djibouti. The rebel Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization, known as RSADO, which opposes the Eritrea government, called on the international community to prevent a new border confl ict between Djibouti and Eritrea. But the group said in a statement that “for the border-straddling Afar people” the greatest threat is the continuation “of the last 26 years oppressive regime rule” of Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki.
Qatar will not negotiate with its neighbours to resolve the Gulf dispute unless they first lift the trade and travel boycott they imposed two weeks ago, its foreign minister said, but added Doha still believed a solution was possible.
The United Arab Emirates, which along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain imposed the measures to isolate Qatar, said the sanctions could last for years unless Doha accepted demands that the Arab powers plan to reveal in coming days. Qatar has denied accusations by its neighbours that it funds terrorism, foments regional instability or has cosied up to their enemy Iran.
The dispute has opened a rift among some of the main US allies in the Middle East, with President Donald Trump backing tough measures against Qatar even as his State Department and Defense Department have sought to remain neutral. On Monday Qatar held war games with Turkish troops, showing off one of its few remaining strong alliances after two weeks of unprecedented isolation. Sheikh al-Thani said Doha was ready to “engage and address” the concerns of other Gulf Arab states in what he described as a proper dialogue with pre-determined principles, but reiterated that sanctions must be lifted first. “Until now we didn’t see any progress about lifting the blockade, which is the condition for anything to move forward,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
The countries that imposed the sanctions have denied that they amount to a blockade. Sheikh Mohammed said he planned to travel to Washington next week to discuss the economic effect of the “blockade” and its effects on the global fight against terrorism. “We have a very strong partnership with the US We are partners together in the global coalition of countering terrorism. We have been talking to them since the crisis started,” he said.
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