UAE CALLS FOR A TOUGHER US LINE ON QATAR
UAE’s ambassador to the US wants Trump to rethink on Doha airbase
washington — The United States should consider moving its airbase out of Qatar, the UAE ambassador to the US said on Tuesday, encouraging the Trump administration to use its leverage to further pressure Qatar over its support for extremism.
Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said Arab states would give the US a list of specific actions Qatar must take before punitive steps are lifted. He said the list would likely include Qatari sanctions on bank accounts of individuals that the Gulf states have already sanctioned — and possibly on the banks themselves.
“We’ve gotten fed up. We’ve had enough,” Al Otaiba said.
US President Donald Trump echoed their accusations that Qatar funds terrorist groups and foments instability in the Mideast. Al Otaiba said both his country and the US had allowed ‘bad behaviour’ by Qatar to continue for ‘a very long time’.
“If I want to be honest, I think the reason action hasn’t been taken against Qatar is because of the airbase,” Al Otaiba said, referring to Al Udeid airbase, not far from Doha. “The air base is a very nice insurance policy against any additional pressure.”
Home to some 10,000 US troops, the base has emerged as a flashpoint in the dispute between Qatar and its neighbours. The forward headquarters of the US military’s Central Command is a staging point for US air campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.
“Maybe someone in Congress should have a hearing and just say, you know, ‘Should we consider moving it?’” Al Otaiba said. “And maybe not moving the entire base. Maybe just distribute to various countries so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket.”
Al Otaiba told reporters that the UAE hasn’t told the US it should consider moving the base, but is “willing to have that conversation”. And he suggested American troops could be moved to his country, instead. Pointing to new defense cooperation deal the US and the UAE signed last month, Al Otaiba said the “infrastructure is in place” to have the conversation if the US wanted to relocate.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar last week, accusing it of backing terrorism and promoting policies that destabilise the region. —
If I want to be honest, I think the reason action hasn’t been taken against Qatar is because of the airbase. It is a very nice insurance policy against any additional pressure. Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to US
doha — Qatar said on Wednesday it has pulled all of its troops from the border of Djibouti and Eritrea, east African nations that have a long-running territorial dispute which Doha had helped mediate.
Qatar offered no explanation for the move, though it comes amid a diplomatic dispute with other Arab nations that have cut diplomatic ties. While the dispute hasn’t escalated to a military confrontation, Qatar’s military is dwarfed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The 450 Qatari troops controlled a mountainous border crossing between Eritrea and Djibouti, said Nasredin Ali, a spokesman for Eritrea’s biggest armed group, known as the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation. Eritrean forces moved in after the troops departed, Ali said.
Eritrea’s top diplomat to the African Union, Araya Desta, said the move came after Eritrea cut diplomatic ties to Qatar. However, Desta said his country wanted no confrontation with Djibouti.
“We don’t want to take any of Djibouti’s land,” Araya said. “The last time we had some skirmishes. It was unnecessary.”
Doha mediated the conflict between the two countries in 2010. Gulf nations have stationed troops in both African countries, using that as a jumping-off point for the ongoing Saudi-led war in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and severed ties with Doha last week. Qatar denies the allegations, but its ties to Iran and embrace of various militant groups have put the country under intense scrutiny.
After cutting ties with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain also ordered Qatari residents out though on Sunday, officials said there would be exceptions for mixed-nationality families. Also on Wednesday, Saudi Arabia blocked access to Qatar’s state TV website in the latest move by the kingdom to isolate the tiny Gulf country. The kingdom said the website was blocked because it violates the rules of the Ministry of Culture and Information.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain have also barred new subscriptions and imports of satellite decoders for the Qatari-owned beIN Media Group, which includes sports and movie channels.
The three countries, along with Egypt, have already blocked access to Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel and its affiliate websites. Saudi Arabia has also revoked Al Jazeera’s operating licence. — AP, Reuters