Broad support for Kuwait mediation
US envoy to Qatar to step down ... New ban on beIN
CAIRO, June 13, (Agencies): The Arab League said Monday it supported His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s mediation between some Arab countries and Qatar.
Secretary General Ahmad Abul Gheit expressed his support to the Kuwaiti leader’s mediation efforts during a phone call with First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, who briefed the Arab League chief on His Highness the Amir’s good offices to end the current dispute, the league said in a statement.
Abul Gheit appreciated the Kuwaiti mediation and said “what His Highness the Amir of Kuwait is doing represents all Arabs not just the GCC,” it said.
He hoped the mediation efforts be successful and all parties reach a common ground to solve their differences “and establish sound relations based on non-interference in internal affairs of any party.” Abul Gheit hoped principles of good neighborliness, respecting political choices of all countries, abiding by Arab League Charter and resolutions on counter-terrorism and extremism be respected.
His Highness the Amir has pledged to continue his mediation efforts to reconcile GCC member states.
His Highness the Amir made the pledge in remarks during reception, in Kuwait Monday, of Chairman of the Arab and International Relations Council Mohammad Al-Sager at Bayan Palace. The remarks will be published by Al-Jarida daily tomorrow (Tuesday) His Highness the Amir pledged that he would not be hampered by fatigue or any difficulties in his quest to re-establish the bonds and tackle the differences among the GCC States.
“It is very difficult for us, we the generation that established the GCC 34 years ago, to see some members engage in disputes that may lead to dire consequences,” His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad said.
“This is a duty that I will not abandon,” he stressed, pledging to continue the efforts to tackle inter-GCC differences.
Efforts
King of Morocco Mohammed VI on Tuesday applauded the efforts of His Highness the Amir to find a solution to the Gulf crisis.
This came in a statement issued by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation following a meeting in Kuwait between Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and His Highness the Amir.
The Moroccan King voiced full support to His Highness the Amir’s efforts to heal the Gulf rift and to contain the inter-Gulf crisis through dialogue among the GCC countries, according to the statement.
During his visit to Kuwait, the Moroccan foreign minister delivered a verbal message to His Highness the Amir from the Moroccan King.
The Moroccan foreign minister is visiting Kuwait as part of a Gulf tour aiming at easing out Gulf tensions.
France, meanwhile, affirmed on Tuesday its support to Kuwait’s efforts in defusing tension amongst Gulf countries.
A statement by the French Foreign Ministry stated that France has close relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and all other partners in the region.
It stressed that it is necessary to deescalate Gulf tensions and to meet hopes and expectations of the Gulf people.
His Highness the Amir discussed with France’s President Emmanuel Macron earlier on Monday by phone bilateral ties, issues of common interest and latest regional developments.
Aviation
Qatar has asked the United Nations’ aviation agency to intervene in an airspace rights’ dispute with three Gulf states following an escalating diplomatic row and trade blockade, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
Qatar has sent a letter to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) governing council in an effort to resolve the dispute after Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain closed their airspace to Qatari flights.
The Gulf state has indicated that it will ask the council to resolve the conflict, one of the sources said, using a dispute resolution mechanism under the 1944 Chicago Convention which is overseen by ICAO. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because council
business is discussed in private.
It is not yet clear whether the ICAO council, which is holding regularly scheduled meetings in Montreal this week, would agree to intervene, and how long any efforts would take. The matter is expected to be discussed at council by Friday, said one of the sources.
“I would not expect any overnight resolutions,” he said.
ICAO spokesman William Raillantour
Clark said the agency could not make an immediate comment.
The UN aviation agency, which is headquartered in Montreal, does not impose binding rules, but wields clout through safety and security standards that are usually followed by its 191-member countries.
Earlier in the day, the chief executive of Qatar Airways told CNN that ICAO should declare the measures against Qatari air traffic to be illegal.
“We have legal channels to object to this,” he said. “ICAO... should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act.”
Baker said 18 destinations were now out of bounds for the airline.
He also criticised Saudi Arabia and the UAE, both members of ICAO’s governing council, for shutting down the airline’s offices.
He added that he was “extremely disappointed” in US President Donald Trump. “(The US) should be the leader trying to break this blockade and not sitting and watching what’s going on and putting fuel on (the) fire,” he said.
Trump last week waded into the worst Gulf Arab rift in years and praised the pressure on Qatar, which Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain accuse of supporting Iran and funding Islamist groups, charges Doha denies.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said on Tuesday that the closure of its airspace to flights from Qatar was within the kingdom’s sovereign right to protect its citizens from any threat.
The agency was commenting in reaction to remarks made by Qatar Airways’ chief executive that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were violating international law by shutting out Qatari flights.
The airspace closure was to protect the country and its citizens from anything it sees as a threat and as a precautionary measure, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said in
a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency. Similar statements were also issued by the UAE and Bahraini aviation authorities after Qatar Airways Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker criticised the three Arab countries for the airspace closure in an interview with CNN.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar have long been major proponents of open-skies air transport agreements which remove restrictions on flying between states. These policies helped the region’s largest airlines — Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways to develop their home airports as hubs linking passengers travelling between the east and west.
“From an industry viewpoint it’s unfortunate and disappointing when airlines get caught up in broader political sensitivities which inhibit the benefits of competition and consumer choice, which the region is renowned for,” independent aviation consultant John Strickland told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar a week ago, accusing it of fomenting regional unrest, supporting terrorism and getting too close to Iran, all of which Doha denies.
In all 18 destinations in the region are now out of bounds for Qatar Airways, which has also been forced to close its offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Qatar Airways will now use the aircraft that had been operated on those 18 destinations to fast track its expansion plans, al-Baker later told Al Jazeera in an interview on June 13.
Al-Baker, warning that the blocking of airspace would also hurt competitors by undermining confidence in the region’s “air connectivity”, did not say which markets it would expand to.
Inhumane
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday slammed the economic and political isolation of Qatar
as inhumane and contrary to Islamic values after key Gulf states broke off ties with Ankara’s ally.
“Taking action to isolate a country in all areas is inhumane and unIslamic,” Erdogan said in televised comments to his party in Ankara, after Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting “terrorism”.
In his strongest comments yet on the crisis, Erdogan added that Qatar was a country “on which a death sentence had in some way been pronounced”.
The crisis has put Turkey in a delicate position as Ankara regards Qatar as its chief ally in the Gulf but is also keen to maintain its improving relations with the key regional power Saudi Arabia.
Turkey also is eager to maintain workable relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s foe with whom Doha’s critics say Qatar maintained excessively close ties.
Erdogan added he would hold threeway phone talks on the crisis later Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron and Qatar’s Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
The move by Saudi and its allies came shortly after US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh, with some analysts saying the US leader had emboldened the Saudi leadership.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Erdogan would hold talks on the crisis with Trump in the coming days.
Erdogan vehemently rejected the accusations — already strongly denied by Doha — that Qatar supports terrorism, arguing the country had been a staunch opponent of Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
“Qatar is a country which, like Turkey, has adopted the most resolute stance against DAESH (IS),” said Erdogan. “Let’s stop fooling ourselves.”
Striking a careful balance, Erdogan
stopped short of directly criticising Saudi Arabia’s actions but called on Saudi King Salman to show leadership by solving the crisis.
“I think that as the elder statesman of the Gulf, the king of Saudi Arabia should solve this affair and show leadership,” said Erdogan.
Turkey’s parliament last week approved deploying troops to a Turkish base in Qatar in what was seen as a show of support for its embattled ally.
Envoy
The US ambassador to Qatar said Tuesday she is leaving her post in Doha, in the midst of the worst diplomatic crisis involving America’s Gulf allies in years.
“This month, I end my 3 years as US Ambassador to #Qatar. It has been the greatest honor of my life and I’ll miss this great country,” Dana Shell Smith wrote on Twitter.
Smith did not say why she was stepping down, if she was staying within the diplomatic service or who would replace her.
In Washington, officials said the ambassador had made a personal decision to leave the post earlier this year after serving a normal three-year tour.
“Ambassador Dana Smith’s assignment as ambassador comes to an end this month and she will depart Qatar later this month as part of the normal rotation of career diplomats throughout the world,” a senior State Department official said.
“Her decision to leave the foreign service was made earlier this year. We wish her the best as she moves on from the Department of State.”
Smith’s departure comes with Washington sending mixed signals over the Gulf crisis, which saw Saudi Arabia and several of its allies cut ties with Qatar claiming that Doha supported extremist groups.
Saudi Arabia has called time out on
new subscriptions to Qatar-linked satellite television network beIN Sports, a major broadcaster of international football across the region.
Morocco said it would send planeloads of food to Qatar to boost supplies there after Gulf Arab states cut diplomatic and economic ties with Doha.
Qatar, which imported 80 percent of its food from bigger Gulf Arab neighbours before the diplomatic shutdown, has also been talking to Iran and Turkey to secure food and water.
“This decision was made in conformity with Islamic precepts that call for solidarity and mutual aid between Muslim people, notably during this holy month of Ramadan,” the Moroccan foreign ministry statement said on Monday.
On Sunday, Morocco said it would remain neutral in the dispute, offering to mediate between the Gulf countries, which are all close allies to the North African kingdom. Qatar’s finance minister said on Monday the world’s richest country per capita has the resources to endure and played down the economic toll of the confrontation.