Qatar fails test, will pay, say 4 Arab nations
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 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.
Shukri said Qatar’s policies could not be allowed to continue and vowed that Egyptian blood would not be shed in vain, a reference to deadly attacks by militants against Egyptian army and security forces. Cairo has long accused Qatar of supporting extremists and providing refuge and financial backing for the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that Egypt outlawed and branded a terrorist organization shortly after the military in 2013 ousted President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member.
The four nations could impose financial sanctions or force Qatar out of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional body that serves as a counterbalance to Iran. Some Arab media outlets have suggested a military confrontation or a change of leadership in Qatar could be in the offing, but officials have said those options are not on the table.
Although Qatar Airways’ routes over its neighbors have been closed, along with the country’s sole land border with Saudi Arabia, Qatar has been able to import food and goods from other countries. Its economy, fueled by its natural gas exports, seems to be weathering the crisis though there has been pressure on its stock market and currency.
The credit ratings agency Moody’s warned Wednesday that it had changed Qatar’s economic outlook to negative.
The crisis has become a global concern as neither side appears to be backing down. Qatar, the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, hosts about 10,000 American troops at its al-Udeid Air Base. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been trying to ease tensions.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for all parties in the dispute to “negotiate constructively” and to “stop terrorist financing and discredit extremist ideology.”
A White House statement said Trump’s call for a negotiated settlement came in a telephone conversation with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed concern about the four nations’ actions, saying Wednesday in an interview with German weekly Die Zeit that “what is being done with Qatar runs counter to international law.” He said the Arab states’ demand for a Turkish military base in Qatar to be closed shows “a lack of respect toward us and Qatar.”
“The Americans are also there … and so are the French. … Why are the Saudis disturbed by us and not by that? This is unacceptable.”
At the United Nations, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said later Wednesday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has sent U.N. political chief Jeffrey Feltman to the Persian Gulf to discuss how the U.N. could help resolve the crisis.
Feltman has already been to the United Arab Emirates and was in Kuwait on Wednesday, Dujarric said, adding that he would also travel to Qatar’s capital, Doha.