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Kuwait seeks to calm crisis as Arab nations cut ties with Qatar Qatar 'willing to work with' Turkey and Kuwait to calm Gulf dispute
(about 4 hours later)
Kuwait is trying to mediate in the Gulf crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar and moved to isolate the kingdom from the outside world, Qatar’s foreign minister said on Tuesday. Qatar has moved to defuse the diplomatic and economic blockade placed on it by its neighbours as the worst crisis to hit the Gulf states in 30 years entered its first full day.
The row is the biggest diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf since the 1991 US-led war against Iraq and has seen shoppers in Doha panic buying food and other supplies after Saudi Arabia imposed a de facto blockade. The tiny energy-rich state said on Tuesday it was willing to work with mediators such as Kuwait and Turkey to try to end the dispute as Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Saber al-Ahmad al-Jabah al-Sabah, said he would travel to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman.
Qatar – an energy-rich travel hub – shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia and relies heavily on importing food, much of it from Gulf countries. Kuwait has already persuaded Qatar’s emir to abandon plans for a state broadcast on Monday, arguing such a speech might be inflammatory.
Queues up to 25 people deep formed in the Carrefour supermarket in Doha’s City Center mall, one of the busiest shopping areas in the Qatari capital, hours after five Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with the kingdom, accusing it of supporting extremism. But in a sign that relations will not be repaired easily, Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates foreign minister, said there would be no concessions until there was a clear plan setting out the steps Qatar would take to revise its foreign policies.
Shoppers piled trollies and baskets high and shelves were stripped of essentials such as milk, rice and chicken. Neighbours including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have banned Qatari planes from using their airspace, and its sole land border is closed. The blockade is a dramatic escalation of Qatar’s support of Islamist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, and its perceived tolerance of Iran.
Massive, MASSIVE, queues in Doha's main supermarket, no chicken or milk left (it's 4.18pm). #QatarCrisis Everyone stocking up. Fuelling the hard line against Qatar is fury over its alleged payment in April of a $1bn (£780m) ransom to an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria and Iranian security officials for the release of 26 members of a Qatari royal party kidnapped in December 2015 while on a falcon hunt in southern Iraq.
Among the hundreds of shoppers desperately searching for staple goods was Azir, a Sri Lankan who went to the store when relatives called him from home after watching the news on television. Qatar is one of the most energy-rich countries in the Gulf and the home to a 10,000-strong US military headquarters for its operations in the region but is not well positioned to withstand a blockade since it is heavily dependent on food imports across its border with Saudi Arabia. Its position as a commercial air hub is also threatened by the blockade.
“I was asleep. My family phoned me and woke me up from Sri Lanka,” he said, his trolley full of nappies for his 18-month-old child. “I came because of the crisis.” The anti-Qatar alliance, which also includes Egypt and Bahrain, is determined to drive a hard bargain, including an end to Qatar “soft pedalling” on Iran, closure of some of its independent media networks, including al-Jazeera, and the ejection from Doha of leading figures in the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
Saudi Arabia and UAE believe they have the backing of the Trump administration for their approach, and by portraying Qatar as uniquely culpable in the funding of extremist groups will have caught the ear of key rightwing players in Washington.
Donald Trump, who last month visited Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday appeared to endorse the Saudi-led blockade as a response to his calls to stop the funding of Islamist groups:
During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!
Diplomats on Tuesday pointed to Trump’s support of Saudi Arabia as the more likely immediate cause of the move to break off trade and diplomatic relations with Qatar than the ransom paid for the release of the Qatari royals. But the episode could be seen as emblematic of a lack of seriousness some leaders in the region show in defeating terrorist groups.
The 26 Qataris, including eleven members of the ruling al-Thani royal family, had gone on a falcon hunting trip when they were kidnapped from a desert camp in Muthanna province, southern Iraq, by a 100-strong armed group from the Iraqi Shia militia Kataeb Hezbollah.
Complex year-long negotiations for the release of the group involved Iran, Iraq, the Lebanese Shia militants, Hezbollah, and others including the al-Qaida-linked Syrian group Ahrar al-Sham. The Iranian foreign minister reportedly visited Doha in March to discuss the deal.
Qatar’s emir sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani personally greeted the men when they arrived in Doha on a private jet from Baghdad in April, but the precise terms of their release has never been published. A furious Iraqi prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, claimed that the deal had been done without Iraqi government involvement or approval.
As the blockade began to be imposed on Qatar, queues up to 25 people deep formed in the Carrefour supermarket in Doha’s City Center mall, one of the busiest shopping areas in the capital. Shoppers piled trollies and baskets high and shelves were stripped of essentials such as milk, rice and chicken.
Among the hundreds of shoppers desperately searching for staple goods was Azir, a Sri Lankan who went to the store when relatives called him from home after watching the news on television. “I was asleep. My family phoned me and woke me up from Sri Lanka,” he said. “I came because of the crisis.”
Ernest, from Lebanon, said he knew he had to go shopping because others would rush to the stores. “It’s a cycle of panic and I needed to get pasta,” he said, as he shopped with his young family – pushing two trollies.Ernest, from Lebanon, said he knew he had to go shopping because others would rush to the stores. “It’s a cycle of panic and I needed to get pasta,” he said, as he shopped with his young family – pushing two trollies.
On Tuesday, in an interview with Doha-based news network al-Jazeera, Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said Kuwait’s ruler had asked Qatar’s ruling emir to delay giving a speech about the crisis late on Monday night. Massive, MASSIVE, queues in Doha's main supermarket, no chicken or milk left (it's 4.18pm). #QatarCrisis Everyone stocking up.
“He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis,” Al Thani said. Apart from the lack of food in shops, Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers, was forced to suspend all flights to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice. On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect on Tuesday and customers were being offered a refund.
The state-run Kuwait News Agency reported that its ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, spoke with Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Monday evening and urged him to give a chance to efforts that could ease tensions. The call came after a senior Saudi royal arrived in Kuwait with a message from the Saudi king.
Qatar has denied funding extremists, though western officials have accused it of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists such as al-Qaida’s branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.
The crisis could also hit exports, including goods such as machinery, electronic equipment or livestock transported by road to Saudi Arabia.
According to the United Nations, Qatari exports to Saudi Arabia totalled $896m (£693m) in 2015.
The severing of ties is also potentially bad news for the service industry, including hotels and cab drivers in Doha.
Saudis usually flock to Qatar on holiday during Eid al-Fitr at the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. But with a travel ban now imposed by Riyadh, takings could be down for many south Asian cab drivers who rely heavily on tourists.
“This is very bad news, very bad news,” said Raihan, a driver from India. “All Saudis come here for Eid.”
Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice. On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect on Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.
The route between Doha and Dubai is popular with business passengers and both are major transit hubs for travellers between Asia and Europe. FlightRadar24, an airplane tracking website, said Qatar Airways flights had already been affected.The route between Doha and Dubai is popular with business passengers and both are major transit hubs for travellers between Asia and Europe. FlightRadar24, an airplane tracking website, said Qatar Airways flights had already been affected.
“Many of Qatar Airways’ flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia,” the site said. “Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey.” “Many of Qatar Airways’s flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia,” the site said. “Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey.”
The block on Saudis visiting Qatar will also hit its service and tourism sector. Saudis usually flock to Qatar on holiday during Eid al-Fitr at the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan. “This is very bad news, very bad news,” said Raihan, a cab driver originally from India. “All Saudis come here for Eid.”
Qatar has denied funding extremists, though western officials have accused it of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists such as al-Qaida’s branch in Syria.
Supporters of Qatar however claim western diplomats privately welcome the presence of Hamas figures in Doha, seeing it as a base for talks, and do not regard Qatar as more responsible for extremist funding than Saudi Arabia.
Qatar itself feels it is the victim of an orchestrated and well-planned media blitz by Saudi and the UAE, exploiting Trump’s backing for Riyadh, that is designed to end Qatar’s independent foreign policy.
Tobias Ellwood, the foreign office minister, spoke to key players in the Gulf on Monday, urging them to do more to fight extremism. He insisted the Saudi monarchy was trying to steer a middle course between a younger generation that favoured faster change and an older more conservative group.
He said the government did not intend to publish a report in the overseas funding of extremism in the UK, saying Theresa May has instead announced plans for a commission into extremism.