Tensions with Qatar impede meeting between Obama and GCC

Diplomatic sources in Washington have revealed to the UAE-based newspaper Al-Khaleej that the political disagreement between the State of Qatar and the major Gulf States has prevented the meeting that was planned previously between all the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and US President Barack Obama, therefore the other member states have decided to designate King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia as the representative of all the GCC countries in the upcoming meeting with Obama.

The US president had been scheduled to hold a meeting with all the GCC leaders during his visit to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on 28 March.

The newspaper added that: “The GCC states have wanted to face the American president at this sensitive stage, which has been full of events and changes at both the regional and global levels, with a unified and harmonious voice that is consistent with one another.”

However, Al-Khaleej pointed out that “the results of the Qatari policy in recent years have led to the isolation of the State of Qatar,” and warned Doha of “the consequences of going too far with the wrong policies that could crack the unanimity [of the GCC] and enrich the environment of sedition, extremism and terrorism, affecting the heart of the security pact in the Gulf, particularly in terms of collective security.”