Qatar to UAE minister: ‘Blockading countries ignore reconciliation efforts’

In response to the “misleading” remarks of United Arab Emirates (UAE) officials that it rejects proposals to solve the crisis with its neighbours, Qatar announced on Friday that it: “Has always asserted its openness to unconditional dialogue to solve the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) crisis.”

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash claimed during a virtual event at the Middle East Institute that Qatar does not want to solve the crisis.

A statement by the Qatari embassy in Washington stressed: “It is the blockading countries that are stalling the process by rejecting the multiple calls by the US administration to unify the GCC front.”

The statement added: “The world still remembers the 13 demands list that included, unsurprisingly, the shuttering of free media [Al Jazeera] by countries known for their antagonism towards journalists and freedom of expression.”

Timeline: Arab rift with Qatar

The Qatari embassy continued: “Qatar has taken legal routes to address the unilateral measures of the blockading countries, in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). At the same time, the blockading countries failed to provide any evidence against Qatar.”

“In 2018, the ICJ granted Qatar’s request for provisional measures requiring that the UAE allows families be reunited, Qatari students be given the opportunity to complete their education in UAE or obtain their records, and Qataris be allowed access to tribunals and UAE judicial institutions,” the statement revealed.

On 5 June 2017, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt announced their blockade on Qatar and imposed sanctions on it over claims of supporting terror.

Qatar denied these claims and accused these countries of attempting to impose their will on its sovereignty.

The Arab rift with Qatar intensifies – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]