Bahrain calls for tougher actions against Qatar

The King of Bahrain Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa called for more decisive action against neighbouring Qatar, pointing out that his country will boycott any future summits attended by Doha.

“It is time to take firmer action against those who are abroad to threaten the security and safety of their brothers,” the Bahraini King said during a cabinet meeting.

“Bahrain cannot attend any summit or Gulf meeting attended by Qatar unless it corrects its approach,” he added. The King accused Qatar of practicing policies which threaten the security of other GCC member states.

He stressed that Qatar does not respect the GCC charters and treaties.

Yesterday, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa called for Qatar’s membership to the GCC to be frozen until it responds to demands set out by boycotting states.

Read: Qatar documents 5,600 humanitarian cases caused by siege

His comments contradict those of Bahrain’s Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Zayed Al-Zayani, who said last week: “I think that the issue we have with Qatar is not something of a long-term nature – the dispute is going to get solved sooner or later.”

A Kuwaiti diplomatic source revealed a few days ago that the Gulf summit scheduled for December in Kuwait might be postponed due to the Gulf crisis.

The source said the Kuwaitis believe US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit to the region last week will push towards negotiations to be held in Washington under the auspices of President Donald Trump.

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During his visit to the Middle East, Tillerson met with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, before leaving for Doha to meet the Emir of Qatar.

Meanwhile, Qatar said that it will not withdraw from the GCC, describing it as “an important organisation and a source of stability in the region”.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in early June, accusing it of supporting terrorism, which Doha denies.