diplomacy our priority: uaE

If Qatar does not heed to demands, the alternative is not escalation but separation, says Dr Gargash

dubai — The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash, has said diplomacy is the priority for the solution of the crisis with Qatar despite the leaking by Doha of the demands of the four countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.

The leaking of the demands has undermined the Kuwaiti mediation and has taken the crisis back to ‘square one’, he said.

He was speaking during a press conference at the Dubai office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Dubai, held to discuss the latest developments regarding the crisis with Qatar.

Responding to a question on the impact of the leakage by Qatar of the demands made by the four countries, Dr Gargash said, “Diplomacy is a priority to resolve the crisis with Qatar, but it should change its behaviour and position regarding the support of extremism and terrorism.”

The UAE minister thanked Kuwait for its mediation efforts. “The alternative, if Qatar does not handle seriously the demands presented to it by the Kuwaiti mediator, will not be an escalation, but separation.”

He emphasised, “We are not talking about regime change in Qatar, but behavioural change. There are a number of rules to deal with the crisis with Qatar. These rules are the diplomatic solution that requires Qatar to change its approach regarding support of extremism and terrorism.”

“There is another rule concerning the failure to achieve the list of demands, in this case the option would be separation,” he said.

The disagreement between Egypt and the three GCC countries and Qatar is not a matter of sovereignty but of its support for extremism and terrorism, Dr Gargash said. “We hope that Qatar will realise the consequences of its policy against neighbouring countries and that wisdom will prevail in Doha,” he said.

“If the Qatari government hears wisdom and the voice of reason and begins to implement agreements between the two sides, we want safeguards and a monitoring system for these agreements,” he said.

“We have noticed the European and American interest in this, especially as these countries are also affected by extremism and terrorism,” the UAE minister said. —

We hope that Qatar will realise the consequences of its policy against neighbouring countries and that wisdom will prevail in Doha. Dr Anwar Gargash