Daily Management Review

Just Hours After Hopes For A Breakthrough, Saudi Arabia Squashes Talks With Qatar


09/09/2017




Just Hours After Hopes For A Breakthrough, Saudi Arabia Squashes Talks With Qatar
After a report of a phone call between the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar suggested a breakthrough in the Gulf dispute, accusing Qatar of "distorting facts," Saudi Arabia on Saturday suspended any dialogue with Qatar.
 
State media from both countries reported earlier that Gulf dispute was discussed between Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Qatar’s’ Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani when they spoke by the telephone on Friday.
 
Suspending air and shipping routes with the world's biggest exporter of liquified petroleum gas, , which also is home to the region's biggest U.S. military base, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar on June 5.
 
While Kuwait has been trying to mediate the dispute, the nations supporting the ban say Doha supports regional foe Iran and Islamists, charges Qatar's leaders deny. 
 
"During the call, the Emir of Qatar expressed his desire to sit at the dialogue table and discuss the demands of the four countries to ensure the interests of all," Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
 
"The details will be announced later after the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concludes an understanding with the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of
Egypt," SPA said.
 
Ever since the start of the Gulf crisis, Friday’s phone call was the first publicly reported contact between the two leaders.
 
U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier talked with Sheikh Tamim and the phone call was based on coordination of Trump, Qatar's state news agency QNA said.
 
Trump said he thinks a deal could come quickly and added that he would be willing to step in and mediate the worst dispute in decades among the U.S.-allied Arab states and Qatar.
 
QNA reported that both Qatar's Emir and the Saudi Crown Prince "stressed the need to resolve the crisis by sitting down to the dialogue table to ensure the unity and stability of the GCC countries."
 
QNA further said that Sheikh Tamim welcomed the proposal of Prince Mohammed during the call "to assign two envoys to resolve controversial issues in a way that does not affect the sovereignty of the states."
 
Citing an unnamed official at the ministry of the foreign affairs denying the QNA report, Saudi Arabia later issued a second statement.
 
"What was published on the Qatar News Agency is a continuation of the distortion of the Qatari authority of the facts," SPA reported citing the Saudi official. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announces the suspension of any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar until a clear statement is issued clarifying its position in public."
 
(Source:www.cnbc.com)