Positive signals from Qatar could open door to talks with GCC states

The Qatari decree to amend the anti-terrorism law is a positive step to deal seriously with the 59 terrorists The pressure of the crisis has started to bear fruit, and the wiser course would be changing the whole orientation

dubai — The UAE on Friday welcomed Qatar’s decision to amend its anti-terrorism laws after sanctions were imposed on Doha last month.

In a move to counter their accusations of supporting terrorism, Qatar has set rules for defining terrorism, freezing terrorism financing and establishing national terrorism lists.

“The Qatari decree to amend the anti-terrorism law is a positive step to deal seriously with the 59 terrorists,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain designated dozens of people with alleged links to Qatar as terrorists, including Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef Al Qaradawi, and 12 entities, among them Qatari-funded charities.

“The pressure of the crisis has started to bear fruit, and the wiser course would be changing the whole orientation,” Dr Gargash added. Dr Gargash also said the countries’ concerns about Qatar’s relationship with Iran had eased since Kuwait ordered the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador and 14 other diplomats for alleged links to a “spy and terror” cell on Thursday.

The four countries led a diplomatic and economic campaign to pressure and isolate the Gulf state, which is a critical global supplier of gas and hosts the biggest US military base in the Middle East.

Last week, Qatar signed an accord with the United States on working together to fight terrorism financing.

Sources said it provides for the United States to post officials at Qatar’s state prosecutor’s office.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reached the deal with Qatar during a round of shuttle diplomacy aimed at ending the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.

No details about the contents of the agreement signed by Tillerson and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, have been publicly released.

But a Western official in the Gulf who has seen the document said it specifies actions Qatar

will take by the end of the year, including placing two US Department of Justice officials in Qatar’s general prosecution.

“They will work hand in hand with Qatar to charge individuals accused of financing terrorists,” said the official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Other actions in the agreement include imposing travel bans, enforcing surveillance, and freezing the assets of individuals with suspected links to terrorism. The accord points to internationally agreed definitions of terrorism without specifying particular groups.

A US Department of Justice spokesman declined to comment.

A Qatari official said that the country’s general prosecutor would be working with US officials but that the terms of the cooperation had not been finalised.

The deal suggests White House officials hope to use the Gulf crisis over Qatar as a way to stem alleged financing flows from the wealthy region to terrorist groups.

“It’s a very strong agreement. If followed, this should achieve exactly what Trump requested in the Riyadh summit,” said the Western official.

Qatar appears to be taking steps to ease the pressure.

“Since the crisis there have been arrests and increased monitoring. They (Qatar) are taking important steps,” said a US official in the Gulf.