Gulf has changed after Qatar crisis — Gargash

Solution is known and will come in due course, UAE minister says

The Gulf region will not return to what it was before the Qatar crisis, Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said yesterday on his Twitter account.

Gargash added that the third anniversary of the Qatar crisis does not deserve any comment. “The tracks were separated and the Gulf changed and it cannot return to the way it was ... the causes of the crisis are known, and the solution is also known and will come in due course ... Perhaps the best advice is to ignore it, move beyond escalation and work for the future,” Gargash said.

On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, closing airspace and ports to Qatar-registered planes and ships over accusations it was supporting terrorist and extremist groups.

Civil dialogue

The row led to a regional polarisation, with Qatar, Iran and Turkey on one side, and the Arab Quartet and other countries on the other.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said his country

Perhaps the best advice is to ignore it, move beyond escalation and work for the future.”

Anwar Gargash | UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs

had always sought a civil dialogue without conditions that respected sovereignty and international law. “These positions have not and will not change,” he said on Twitter.

Over the past three years, Kuwait has sought to defuse the crisis without success. It has recently renewed its efforts. The Saudi-led bloc has repeatedly announced a raft of conditions for mending fences with Doha.

The demands include Qatar’s severance of links with militant groups, scaling down ties with Iran and shutting down Al Jazeera TV.