Kuwait to join Arab states if Qatar says ‘No’: journalist

CAIRO – 4 July 2017: Kuwaiti journalist Ahmed Al Jarallah said his country may join the governments of Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia against Qatar in case Doha chose to refuse the 13-demand list for reconciliation.

In statements Monday to ‘Hona Al Asema’ (The capital calling) television talk show, Jarallah said that Qatari response was handed already to The Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Al-Sabah, however the four governments along with Kuwait will discuss it during their meeting Wednesday in Cairo.

“The Qatari regime cannot do anything but approve the demands; any other official statement is considered to be ‘unstable.’ They want to tell their people that the country wasn’t affected by the Arab decisions but in reality they are,” Jarallah said.

He added that about two or three demands on the list are still under discussion, including the closing of Al Jazeera. “They say that the channel is independent, but what we see on it is just the contrary,” Jarallah said.

On Monday Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani handed the Kuwaiti Emir Sabah bin Ahmed Al-Sabah Doha’s response to the Arab countries’ demands. The written message however, wasn’t delivered yet to the governments of the Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

According to the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zaid Sunday, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the four states will be held Wednesday in Cairo to follow up the latest escalation of the dispute. “The meeting will discuss the government’s vision regarding the current and the coming escalation,” Abu Zaid said.

On Monday, Sheikh Sabah of Kuwaiti asked the four countries to extend the deadline given to Doha for 48 hours, which was approved by the governments of Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE and Saudi Arabia shortly later.

Qatar’s relations with several Arab and other Gulf States have been strained since May 24, when the Qatari state-run news agency reported Sheikh Tamim bin Hammad Al-Thani’s statements regarding Gulf foreign policy with Iran, as “unwise.”

On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Libya and Yemen decided to cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar, hurling allegations the state supports terrorism. Ports and airspace were cut off to Qatari vessels.

On June 6, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Al-Sabah started a tour that included Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar in an attempt to mediate between the three countries.