The Foreign Affairs Ministries of Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia held a meeting on Sunday in Bahrain to discuss updates on the diplomatic boycott against Qatar. The is the second meeting to be held in Cairo.
During the meeting the foreign representatives renewed their vow to engage in a dialogue with Qatar, in the event Qatari authorities agree to abide by reconciliation conditions previously put fourth by the countries.
The discussion followed up on the coordination between the four countries regarding the diplomatic crisis with Qatar, and whether or not the Qatari authorities have showed an obligation to the accord.
Bahrain Foreign Affairs Minister Khalid Bin Ahmed stated that the discussions had also included the role of Qatar as a refuge for wanted terrorists along with their financial support of terrorism.
Moreover, the Arab representatives all stressed the six reconciliation demands, recently declared in a Cairo meeting, that included refusal of Qatari interference in these countries’ internal affairs.
These four Arab countries have engaged in a diplomatic boycott against Qatar since May, when they announced suspension of diplomatic bilateral relations and the dismissal of Qatari missions from their territories’, in addition to the closure of ground, naval and aerial borders.
The list of demands by the aforementioned countries aim to put an end to the ongoing diplomatic boycott they adopted against Qatar. The demands include the suspension of the renowned Qatari based news channel of Al-Jazeera, the delivery of wanted figures affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group and other extremist groups.
These requests were met with refusal from Qatari authorities, that considered them as a clear violation to its sovereignty; this refusal pushed the countries to hold a second meeting in Bahrain to discuss escalation measures against Qatar.
The impasse between Qatar and the four Arab countries is expected to push the crisis towards a dead end and enhance escalation of penalties imposed against Qatar.
Several political experts had predicted that the second meeting of the Foreign Affairs Ministries against Qatar would lead to new unprecedented sanctions, including the expulsion of Qatar from the Gulf Cooperation Council.
However, the second meeting did not mention any such sanctions against Qatar or even hint any probable escalation if Qatar did not suspend its alleged support to terrorism, the four Arab countries instead highlighted that they are ready to open dialogue with Qatar if it showed obligation on their side to suspend support terrorism.
(Egypt Independent)
