On Sunday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which recently cut their ties with Qatar, stated they would like to open their doors to Qatar provided that it succumbs to their conditions. The foreign ministers of these four Arab countries met in the Bahraini capital Manama to address the crisis in the Middle East that has plagued the region. Although Kuwait’s diplomatic efforts were supported by Western powers, it was unsuccessful in putting an end to the dispute, forcing the four Arab states to severe communications and travel with Qatar.
As cited on CNN, the said Arab nations are now prepared for a dialogue with Qatar provided that the latter absolutely stops funding terror groups and supporting extremism. Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s foreign minister, in a news conference said that Qatar should never meddle in the foreign affairs of other states as well as take action to the 13 demands of the four Arab countries. It was also announced that there will be no new economic sanctions to be imposed on the Gulf state.
The 13 demands of the four Arab countries
A comprehensive list of 13 demands for Qatar has been issued earlier. The list consists of Qatar’s curbing of support for the Muslim Fraternity, shutting down a Turkish military base, closing the Doha-based Al Jazeera channel, and decreasing its associations with Gulf enemy Iran.
But it seems that Qatar was not at all serious in dealing with the demands of the four Arab countries according to Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi’s Foreign Minister.
Adel al-Jubeir further said that they are ready to deal with Qatar on the realization of the 13 demands and on the implementation of the principles if Qatar shows sincerity.
However, it has become evident that it is actually not serious. Moreover, the four Arab states have laid down the six principles that they would want Qatar to completely adopt.
It was on June 5 that the Saudi-led bloc had severed its ties with the Gulf state following accusations that it has backed militant organizations and cozying up to their arch-nemesis Iran.
But Doha denies the allegations.
The sanctions of the four Arab countries will eventually take a hit on the Qatari economy according to al-Hayat newspaper. While all four Arab countries have severed air and sea links with Doha, Saudi Arabia has totally closed its land border with Qatar. They wish to tell the country to impose several measures that will show it is changing its policies.
Unsurprisingly, Iran and Turkey have joined the fray by providing products to Qatar such as fresh produce, poultry and dairy products. Oman provides alternative ports to those in the United Arab Emirates. The four Arab states added 18 more organizations as well as individuals who they say have connections with Qatar to their “terrorist” lists.
