UAE to go on without Qatar, says Gargash
JEDDAH: UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Wednesday that no compromise with Qatar would come anytime soon.
It was important to look beyond “crisis” and to think of it as a “new set of relations in (the) Gulf replacing old ones,” he wrote on Twitter.
The remarks by the senior UAE official came a day after the AntiTerror Quartet (ATQ), comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, added nine entities and nine individuals to their list of terrorist groups, which they said have direct or indirect ties with Qatari authorities.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the ATQ said that the three Qatari individuals and the lone Kuwaiti in its additional list have engaged in fund-raising campaigns to support Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist militias in Syria.
The UAE minister accused Qatar of promoting policies and values it does not practice.
“We have to go on without Qatar; a conservative Gulf monarchy, in (a) totally anachronistic place. Promoting policies and values it does not practice," he wrote.
Gargash added that barring Qatar’s review of past policies, the current state “will continue for a while and new regional relationship will emerge and strengthen.”
“The 4 states emerging from the crisis represent core policies of confronting extremism & terrorism & working for Arab security & stability,” he said.
“Suddenly, the fight against terrorism, sovereignty and noninterference have become national priorities for Qatar. We would love to believe this new media discourse, but the country’s record is right in front of us, replete with tragedies,” Gargash posted on Twitter.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Qatar in early June largely over their allegations that it supports terrorist and extremist groups — a charge Qatar rejects.
On June 8, 2017, the ATQ released a long list of 59 individuals and 12 Qatari-affiliated entities described as “terrorist supporters.”
The quartet initially made 13 demands, and which Qatar dismissed. Last week, the group urged Qatar to commit to six principles on combatting extremism and terrorism and negotiate a plan with specific measures to implement them — a step that could pave the way for an early resolution of the crisis.
Qatar also dismissed the demand, insisting on its innocence and saying it would not accept dictates that would insult its sovereignty as a nation.