Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, criticized Qatar today, Thursday (January 21, 2021) for “not taking any initiative” to solve existing problems with his country, despite this month’s agreement to resolve a three-year dispute.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt agreed this month during the “Al-Ula” summit to restore diplomatic and commercial relations And the travel links that it had cut with Qatar in 2017 due to accusations of supporting terrorism, which Doha denied.
Al-Zayani said, according to a tweet posted by the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Twitter, “Qatar has not yet shown the Al-Ula summit any initiative to resolve the outstanding issues with Bahrain … and Doha must deal with the requirements of Gulf consensus.” The minister did not give further details about the problems that needed to be solved.
In a related context, the Saudi satellite channel Al Arabiya reported today, quoting Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, that the Kingdom will reopen its embassy in Doha “within days.” However, the Saudi minister also did not provide any details or information about the date.
On the other hand, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday that Egypt and Qatar have agreed to resume diplomatic relationsWhat made Cairo the first to do so officially under an Arab agreement that ended a long-running dispute with Doha.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said, “On January 20, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar exchanged two official notes, according to which the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations between them.”
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted “two Egyptian intelligence sources” as saying that an official from the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs pledged to Egypt during a meeting with officials from Egypt and the UAE on Saturday that Doha would not interfere in Egypt’s internal affairs. The two sources added, and Al-Kalam told Reuters, that he also pledged a change in the direction of the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel and other government media outlets from Cairo.
However, a Qatari official told Reuters on Thursday that no such meeting had taken place and that diplomatic relations had resumed “through written correspondence in accordance with the Al-Ula (summit) agreement,” in Saudi Arabia.
The Qatari Foreign Minister said in televised statements after the announcement of the Arab agreement that Al-Jazeera is an independent media organization.
The two Egyptian intelligence sources, according to Reuters, also said that the officials agreed on economic cooperation and a series of meetings on a number of pending issues, such as Libya and the Muslim Brotherhood, adding that the officials agreed to resume diplomatic relations between Egypt and Qatar, provided that it would be “under test” as one of the sources put it. .
A.H./ A.H. (Reuters)
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Boycott declaration
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. The four countries accused Doha of supporting extremist Islamic groups and being close to Iran, which was denied by Doha.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Accusations and breakthroughs
On May 24, 2017: Doha announced that the official Qatar News Agency website had been subjected to a “hacking operation by an unknown party,” indicating that a “false statement” attributed to the Emir of Qatar had been published. The statements, which Doha denied being issued by the Emir of the country, dealt with Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Muslim Brotherhood, and criticized US President Donald Trump. The Gulf media published these statements despite the denial of Doha, which had opened an investigation.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Borders close
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies announced severing diplomatic ties with Qatar. This was accompanied by economic measures, including closing the land and sea borders with Qatar, stopping flights and imposing restrictions on the movement of Qataris in these countries.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
A list of conditions
On June 22, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt submitted to Qatar a list of 13 requests and set a ten-day deadline for their implementation. Among the demands are the closure of Al-Jazeera, the curtailment of Qatar’s relations with Iran, and the closure of a Turkish military base in the Gulf emirate. Then, on July 4, Qatar affirmed that the “regulation is unrealistic” and inapplicable.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Characters and combos required
On July 25, 2017, Saudi Arabia and its allies published a black list containing the names of “terrorists”, as the list puts it, in which the names of 18 groups and individuals associated with Qatar are listed. The list currently includes about ninety people and groups, and included Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian residing in Qatar.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Alliances to break the isolation
At the beginning of the crisis, Qatar faced difficulties, but it relied on its alliances. Since the beginning of the crisis, Iran and Turkey have sought to help Doha break its isolation. Qatar signed contracts with the United States in the sectors of oil, aviation and armaments. Doha boosted its domestic industries and achieved a kind of self-sufficiency after closing all outlets with its Gulf neighbors, with whom it had strong commercial relations.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Sisi and his allies
On July 23, 2017, Egypt celebrated the 65th anniversary of the July 23, 1952 revolution, led by the Free Officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. In the midst of a military parade, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, accompanied by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Bahrain Khalid al-Faisal, and General Khalifa Haftar, commander of eastern Libyan forces (called the Libyan National Army), appeared in a scene showing an anti-Turkish front. Country.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Trump’s Fickle Positions
In April 2018, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, confirmed during a meeting with the US President that he rejected any funding for terrorism. Trump announced that he is working for the “unity” of countries in the region. Trump commented on Twitter immediately after announcing the boycott of Qatar, saying that the Gulf states said “they will adopt a firm approach against financing extremism, and all evidence points to Qatar.”
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Mathematical diplomacy
In December 2019, the UAE hosted the AFC Asian Cup. Qatar won the title even though the national team fought the championship without the support of its fans. At the end of November and beginning of December 2019, Qatar hosted the Gulf Cup soccer tournament, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain decided to reverse their decision not to participate. Bahrain won the cup. However, hosting sports competitions did not mitigate the differences.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Bin Salman and Bin Zayed
On December 10, 2019, the Gulf Cooperation Council summit was held in Riyadh in the absence of the Emir of Qatar, who replaced him with the then Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani. In January 2020, the Qatari foreign minister announced the suspension of talks between his country and Riyadh that had begun with shame. It was reported that the failure of the reconciliation efforts was behind the reservation of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his friend, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
International decisions in favor of Qatar
On June 16, 2020, the World Trade Organization issued a ruling in favor of Qatar in its dispute with Saudi Arabia, which accused it of violating intellectual property rights due to piracy that the Qatari BN network was exposed to from the BoutQ channel. On 7/14 the International Court of Justice issued a decision in favor of Qatar in its dispute with four other countries, which Doha accused of imposing an “air blockade” on it. On 22.7 Qatar Airways demanded these countries in damages of five billion dollars.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
A Turkish-Qatari alliance
The crisis between Qatar and its Gulf sisters contributed to deepening its cooperation with Turkey, which Turkey played an important role in helping Doha out of its isolation. It established a military base in Qatar, and the areas of cooperation witnessed remarkable growth during the last three years. On 26 November 2020, the two countries signed ten agreements in various fields of cooperation, in the presence of President Erdogan and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim. The Qatari-Turkish alliance raises the concern of Egypt and the UAE.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Reconciliation Summit
On December 4, 2020, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan revealed that his country’s allies are “on the same line” with regard to resolving the Gulf crisis, and to reach a final agreement soon. On December 30, the Gulf Cooperation Council announced that Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz had invited the Emir of Qatar to attend the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the Kingdom on January 5, 2021.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
A warm Saudi reception
On January 5, 2021, the Gulf Cooperation Council held a summit in Saudi Arabia that was overshadowed by the announcement of the opening of the airspace and the borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar after more than three years of severing relations. The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was warmly received upon his arrival in Saudi Arabia, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz was at the forefront of receiving the Emir of Qatar.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Bin Salman and Tamim’s hug at Al-Ula Airport
Upon receiving him at the airport in the historic Saudi city of Al-Ula, Prince Mohammed bin Salman embraced his guest, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in an important sign of the hopes of ending the rift between two major allies of the United States in the Middle East, two weeks before the US President-elect Joe Biden assumed power.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Egyptian and Emirati reservation?
While the Saudi reception of the Emir of Qatar was warm, all eyes are turning to the position of the UAE, Bahrain and its ally Egypt, which has not yet taken steps similar to Saudi Arabia regarding lifting the boycott measures and opening the borders. According to some indications that Egypt and the UAE still have reservations about rapprochement with Qatar, and there are many files that are still in dispute.
Pictures: The Gulf Crisis … From the Swords of Boycott to Before Reconciliation
Kuwaiti mediation role
The Gulf rapprochement is the fruit of relentless mediation efforts, in which the State of Kuwait, along with President Trump’s administration, played a major role. The current Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawwaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (left of the picture), continued the efforts of his predecessor, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who passed away on September 29, 2020. MS / SA (Agencies)
