Healing Gulf rift boils down to addressing 13 demands: Jubeir

CAIRO - 10 September 2017: Healing the Gulf rift boils down to Doha’s response to the 13-point demands set forth by Arab states, said Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Sunday.

The dispute between the Arab countries and Qatar date back to more than 20 years, he added.

“Saudi Arabia maintains its stance towards the Qatar crisis until Doha responds to the four Arab countries’ demands,” Jubeir added, noting that Qatar should show seriousness in finding solutions.

In June, the Anti-Terrorism Quartet consisting of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut all diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar over accusations it supports terrorist groups. The four Arab states boycotting Qatar have sent Doha a list of 13 demands including closing the AlJazeera network and reducing ties to their regional adversary Iran.

Jubeir continued that the solution boils down to putting an end to Qatar’s funding of “terrorists”, harboring fugitive “terrorists”, and an end to Qatar’s interference in other countries’ affairs.

The Russian Foreign Minister called on the disputed parties for dialogue. Lavrov started a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia and Jordan on Saturday, where he will discuss the Gulf rift and Syrian crisis.

Lavrov’s call came a day after the crisis escalated between Riyadh and Doha following a phone call between Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al- Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia denied the news published by the Qatari News Agency (QNA) about a phone call between the two countries' leaders, claiming that Emir Tamim has agreed to send envoys for negotiations upon Saudi demands, while Saudi Arabia said that Tamim asked for face-to-face talks with Salman. Following the phone call, Saudi Arabia announced it has stopped dialogue with Qatar.