Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa – Courtesy of Al-Khalifa’s official Twitter account
CAIRO – 30 October 2017: “Qatar’s membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council should be suspended since it does not deserve the honor of belonging to the alliance,” tweeted Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa.
Bahrain’s foreign minister stated that Qatar's strong relations with Iran threatens the security of the Gulf Cooperation Council; thus he called for suspending the membership of Qatar in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Khalifa pointed out in his tweets that Qatar should not bet on that it will be able to make any gains in the summit. Khalifa announced that Bahrain would boycott the next summit if Qatar attends.
On this regard, Khalifa stressed that Bahrain will not attend the Gulf Cooperation Council’s annual summit in which Qatar would be present, according to Deputy Director of the Arab Center for Research and Studies Hany Soliman.
"Bahrain will not attend a summit and sit with Qatar, a country that is getting closer to Iran day after day and is bringing in foreign forces, both of which are dangerous steps against the security of the GCC countries,” Khalifa stressed.
“Given Qatar’s rogue policy and pervasive evil that threatens our national security, our countries have taken an important step by boycotting Qatar in the hope it regains its senses,” Khalifa tweeted.
Bahrain’s stance towards Qatar affirms the continuity of the crisis and with the failure of mediation it has called for suspending Qatar’s membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
This reflects the cracking rift caused by Qatar’s relation with Arab countries as the former insists on its hostile stance through demanding soldiers from the Turkish army and support from Iran, which is the “region’s true enemy,” added Khalifa.
"If Qatar thinks that its procrastination and its current evasion will buy time until the next summit of the GCC, then it is wrong. If the situation remains as it is, we will not attend the summit," he noted on his account on Twitter.
Khalifa also added that the situation requires taking courageous decisions especially since Arab countries have suffered from the conspiracy and evils of Qatar.
It has been five months since the Qatari crisis erupted. On June 5, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their diplomatic ties with Qatar over accusations that Doha sponsors terrorist groups. They demanded that Doha halts funding to terrorists in the region and that they meet the 13 conditions in order for dialogue to begin.
GCC member, Kuwait, has launched mediation efforts to find a common ground in order to end the crisis; however, Doha rejected the 13 demands made by the Anti-Terror Quartet (ATQ), foiling the mediation attempt.
The GCC countries are scheduled to hold their annual summit in Kuwait in December, yet this has not been confirmed yet as some reports suggest that it might be postponed six months, cancelled or shifted to another venue.
Comments
Leave a Comment