No dialogue if prior conditions are set: Arab quartet says

CAIRO – 8 September 2017: “There would be no dialogue with Qatar if prior conditions are set,” Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain said in a joint statement issued early on Friday.

Military action has never been considered in the dispute with Qatar, nor will it be pondered, the four countries stressed in their statement obtained by Egypt’s state news agency (MENA).

“The statements by Qatar's foreign minister following those by the Emir of Kuwait, confirm Qatar's rejection of dialogue unless the boycott measures taken by the four countries to protect their interests legally and politically are lifted.”

The quartet added that the preconditions set by the minister confirm Qatar's lack of seriousness about holding a dialogue, combating and putting an end to financing terrorism and interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries, they said.

The quartet that broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar on June 5 over its support for extremists and funding of terrorism made the assertion following a statement by Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad in Washington, where he had a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“We regret the Emir of Kuwait’s statement about the success of the mediation in stopping the military option and emphasize that the military option was not and will not be on the table in any case,” the quartet affirmed in their joint statement.

Sheikh Sabah was quoted as saying that “it is important that we succeeded in preventing any military action during the Gulf crisis.”