Gulf conflict worsens as Doha, Riyadh stick to their guns

While Saudi Arabia insists Qatar should meet its 10 demands, which include breaking all links with Iran and expelling resident members of Palestinian militant group ‘Hamas’ and the Egyptian ‘Muslim Brotherhood,’ Qatar is not ready to budge an inch and has vehemently denied all terrorism-related accusations levelled against it by its fellow Islamic nations.

With both warring sides sticking to their guns in what seems a deadly and bloody conflict in the offing if sanity fails to prevail, Qatar is literally under siege following the closure of its sea, land and air borders with its neighbours.

The Saudi demands also include the curbing of Qatar’s state-funded broadcaster Al-Jazeera’s freedom, as the gas-rich nation’s Gulf neighbours have accused the widely-followed media house of slander and airing ‘fake news.’

Riyadh wants Doha to stop interfering in the internal affairs of foreign countries and to cease any funding or support for terrorist organisations.

An esteemed British media house “The Independent” sums up: “On Monday, the Saudis accused Doha of supporting Iran-backed “terrorist activities” in the country’s east, as well as in Shia-majority Bahrain. The suggestion that Qatar is aiding and abetting Shia Iran – the majority Sunni Gulf's arch-rival – is particularly sensitive. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed all diplomatic ties, followed by the internationally recognised governments of Yemen and Libya, the Maldives and Mauritania. The crisis has only escalated since, and could have manifold economic and political effects for the Middle East – as well as alter the course of the region’s many conflicts.”

Here follow brief details of some of the latest developments on this front:

After Turkey’s decision to deploy troops in Qatar, Syrian Kurds have expressed willingness to cooperate with Saudi Arabia.

(Reference: ARA News)

While the Arab Nations have listed 59 individuals and 12 entities on the Qatar-linked terror list, Qatar has rejected Saudi-led bloc's 'terror' list. Doha says list of 59 people and 12 groups, with ties to Qatar, 'reinforces allegations that hold no foundation.’

(References: The Khaleej Times, Al-Jazeera Tv and Reuters)

Russian, Iranian foreign ministers call for Qatar talks:

The Russian and Iranian foreign ministers met Friday to discuss the conflict in Syria and Qatar’s crisis with neighbouring Gulf Arab states, Russia’s news agency TASS has reported.

Sergey Lavrov and Javad Zarif met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Kazakstan’s capital Astana.

“We talked about process in the Syrian settlement and how this process and our common efforts can influence the history around Qatar,” Lavrov said, according to TASS.

Lavrov said Iran and Russia shared the same position on resolving the dispute between Qatar and states led by Saudi Arabia through dialogue.

Saudi blockade vexes Qatar's US$200b World Cup projects:

The “Business Times” writes: “Qatar is spending US$500 million a week to bring the world's biggest sporting event to the Arab world for the first time. Its neighbours, the intended spectators, are blocking supplies from cement to door handles that the country needs to pull off the feat. The road to soccer's 2022 World Cup has been mired in controversy since Qatar won its bid seven years ago. But the world's richest nation per capita has soldiered on, committing US$200 billion to develop at least eight new stadiums, a US$35 billion metro and rail system, and a new city for 200,000 people. It also plans to double the size of its airport to handle as many as 53 million passengers a year.”

Amid Qatar crisis, China tells Iran that Gulf stability is best:

The “Reuters” news agency reports: “China's foreign minister has told his Iranian counterpart that maintaining peace and stability in the Gulf is best for everyone, after several Arab states cut off ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran. China has traditionally played little role in Middle East conflicts or diplomacy, despite its reliance on the region for oil. However, it has been trying to get more involved in efforts to end civil wars in both Syria and Yemen, casting itself as an honest broker without the historical baggage of the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. In March, China played host to the Saudi king and Israeli prime minister in quick succession. China has close ties with Iran too.”

Pakistan to continue importing LNG from Qatar:

Pakistan has said it will continue to import Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Qatar under a 15-year $ one billion deal signed last year since no sanctions have been imposed on Qatar by the United Nations, meaning thereby that Islamabad and Doha are bound to abide by the accord inked in this context.

‘We are not ready to surrender,’ says Doha:

“The Independent” maintains: “The foreign minister of tiny embattled Qatar has reiterated the country will not compromise its independence even if it would mean an end to the growing diplomatic spat which has seen it become increasingly isolated by other Arab nations. "We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told reporters in Doha on Thursday.”

Meanwhile, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said the Gulf rift is threatening the stability of the entire region.

The Doha-based “Al-Jazeera” Television has reported: “He also said diplomacy was still Doha's preferred option and there would never be a military solution to the problem. Qatar had never experienced this type of hostility, even from an enemy country, he said.”

The media house quoted Qatar's Foreign Minister as viewing: “No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy. We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy."

The “Reuters” news agency asserts: “Qatar vowed on Thursday to ride out the isolation imposed on it by fellow Arab states over its alleged support for terrorism and said it would not compromise its sovereignty over foreign policy to resolve the region's biggest diplomatic crisis in years. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with the small Gulf Arab state on Monday, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and their arch-adversary Iran - charges Qatar calls baseless.  Several other countries later followed suit. Would-be mediators including U.S. President Donald Trump and Kuwait's ruling emir have struggled to ease a crisis that Qataris say has led to a blockade of their nation.”

French President Macron calls all sides to opt for dialogue:

Newly-elected French President, Emmanuel Macron, recently held a telephonic conversation with Qatari Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss efforts to solve the crisis in the Gulf.

Macron expressed France's readiness to act as a mediator and stressed the importance of dialogue in order to preserve stability in the region.

The French President also spoke to Saudi King Salman and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and "invited all parties to pursue dialogue.”

Donald Trump dials UAE's Crown Prince:

US President Donald Trump hs phoned UAE’s Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a White House statement said.

The White House added: "Most importantly, the leaders agreed on the importance of implementing agreements reached in Riyadh to counter extremism and to combat the funding of terrorist groups. Additionally, the president emphasized the importance of maintaining a united Gulf Cooperation Council to promote regional stability, but never at the expense of eliminating funding for radical extremism or defeating terrorism."

Sarah Sanders, deputy White House Press Secretary, told reporters aboard the Air Force One: “We are continuing to talk to multiple members in the region. We'll continue to do that and monitor it,"

UAE predicts 'new tragic and comic chapter' in the Qatar diplomatic crisis:

The UAE has forecast 'new tragic and comic chapter' in the Qatar diplomatic tiff that has engulfed the whole of Gulf region.

Anwar Gargash, the Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, has said on Twitter that Qatar is seeking help from Turkey and Iran for dealing with the diplomatic rift in the Gulf and it could bring "new tragic and comic chapter" in the crisis.

The UAE Foreign Minister tweeted: “The great escalation from the confusing and confused brother country and the request for political protection from two non-Arab countries and military protection from one of them could be a new tragic and comic chapter."

Sudan says it will not take sides in Gulf rift:

The “Al-Jazeera” Television states: “Sudan has said it will not take sides in the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf amid calls from Sudanese legislators to back Qatar. Responding to questions from lawmakers, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said he expected Gulf Arab states to overcome the crisis given the "strong relations and blood ties" between them.”

Bahrain bans expressing solidarity with Qatar:

Bahrain has warned its media outlets not to publish or circulate anything that condones or justifies Qatari policies by any means.

Bahrain's Information Affairs Ministry said on Thursday that those who do publish material sympathetic to Qatar "will be held responsible.”

Bahrain’s Information Ministry said: ”Any expression of sympathy with the government of Qatar or opposition to the measures taken by the government of Bahrain, whether through social media, Twitter or any other form of communication, is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine.”

There’s more to this crisis than meets the eye:

Interestingly, an Australian journalist, Debra Killalea, has opined: “The world has been told Qatar’s support of terrorism is behind the Middle East’s biggest diplomatic crisis in decades. But is this the whole truth? While Qatar has been accused of harbouring and financing terrorism and destabilising the region, Saudi Arabia has other reasons for pulling its neighbour into line. According to Middle East expert Dr Ben Rich, Saudi Arabia and six other nations cutting ties with Qatar isn’t really to do with terrorism at all.”

Debra, who writes on an Aussie website “News.com.au,” has held: “This is really more about geopolitics,” Dr Rich, a lecturer from Curtin University’s Department of Social Sciences and Security Studies told news.com.au. Dr Rich said the terrorism justification was in many respects a veneer, or an excuse, for Saudi Arabia to justify the dramatic action to the West — especially the US. “This is about how Qatar is pursuing its own path and interests apart from the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council),” he said. He said Qatar, and its support of Islamist organisations such as the Muslim Brotherhood had long been a thorn in the side of Saudi.”

FBI says Russian hackers ignited the current crisis:

An investigation by the American FBI has concluded that Russian hackers were responsible for sending out fake messages from the Qatari government, sparking the Gulf’s biggest diplomatic crisis in decades.

Another prestigious British newspaper “The Guardian” writes: “It is believed that the Russian government was not involved in the hacks; instead, freelance hackers were paid to undertake the work on behalf of some other state or individual. Some observers have claimed privately that Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates may have commissioned the hackers.”