Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Nations discuss Qatar
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir (seated from left to right), United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa meet Wednesday in Cairo. The foreign ministers from four Arab nations that have sought to isolate Qatar over its alleged support for extremist groups started talks Wednesday.
CAIRO — A four-nation alliance said Wednesday that it will press ahead with efforts to isolate Qatar after the nation delivered an unsatisfactory response to a list of demands that includes cutting ties with Islamist groups and closing the Al-Jazeera news network.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said they would maintain a month-old air, land and sea blockade that is fueling regional tensions.
The four nations accuse Qatar of supporting terror groups and also of maintaining close relations with Shiite power Iran. They also say Qatar must stop meddling in their affairs.
Qatar’s reply “showed complacency and nonseriousness to deal with the root of the problem and reconsider their policies and practices,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said as he read a statement on behalf of the allies. The countries gathered in Cairo to discuss the dispute as the deadline for Qatar to submit to their 13 demands elapsed.
The ministers did not, however, announce any new measures aimed at forcing Qatar to comply, leaving room for a continuation of diplomatic efforts aimed at containing the crisis. They said their next steps would be announced after further consultations. They will meet next in Bahrain, but a date has yet to be set.
Qatar denies accusations that it’s destabilizing the region by supporting terrorism and cozying up to Iran. On Wednesday, Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said Saudi Arabia and its allies see Qatar as “punching above its weight” and want to silence an alternative voice.
Speaking at an event in London, Mohammed urged a different approach, saying Persian Gulf nations should have a “healthy, constructive” relationship with Iran. He also said his government’s funds “never go to radical groups.”
Qatar’s response to the list of demands was delivered on Monday to Kuwait, which has been at the forefront of the effort to negotiate an end to the dispute. Though the contents of the response have not been disclosed, comments by Qatari officials ahead of the meeting made it clear that Qatar does not intend to meet the demands.
The joint statement by the four foreign ministers expressed “regret” for Qatar’s refusal. Qatar, the statement warned, has failed “to understand the importance and danger of the situation.”
“We hope wisdom will prevail and Qatar will eventually make the right decisions,” said Shukri, adding that the four nations were acting against Qatar within the boundaries of international law, as well as the interest to safeguard regional and international security.
All four ministers emphasized that they intend to solve the crisis “peacefully,” though some of them resorted to strong rhetoric in reference to Qatar.
Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Qatar was only interested in “destruction, incitement, extremism and terrorism” rather than in good neighborly relations. Information for this article was contributed by Heba Mahfouz and Liz Sly of The Washington
Post; by Tarek El-Tablawy, Ahmed Feteha and Dana Khraiche of Bloomberg News; and by Hamza Hendawi, Mohammed Wagdy, Jon Gambrell, Suzan Fraser, Edith M. Lederer and Eileen Putman of The Associated Press.