Saudi halts dialogue after Qatar faux pas

The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue

riyadh — Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing it of distorting facts soon after a phone call between the Rulers of both countries offered hope of a breakthrough in the three-month-old Gulf crisis.

Qatar’s Amir, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express interest in talks, state media from both sides said, in the first public engagement between the leaders after the US president offered to mediate in the crisis.

Saudi Arabia led the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain in cutting ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling extremist groups and of being too close to Iran.

The Crown Prince “welcomed this desire”, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) initially reported, adding “details will be announced after Saudi Arabia reaches an agreement with UAE, Bahrain and Egypt”.

But the prospect of a thaw quickly died down after SPA subsequently accused Qatar’s state media of wrongly implying that Saudi Arabia had initiated the outreach. “The contact was at the request of Qatar and its request for dialogue,” SPA said, citing a Saudi foreign ministry official.

“Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue with Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public.”

The development came after US President Donald Trump spoke with Gulf leaders. —