Qatar crisis june7

[krzepice1976]

Qatar's normally bustling desert border with Saudi Arabia was eerily quiet on Monday, with a few dozen frustrated travelers bemoaning a rift between Gulf powers that has frozen movement across Qatar's only land border.
A week after the frontier was shut by the Saudis who accuse Qatar of fomenting regional instability, soldiers in an armored pick-up truck looked out over a barbed-wire fence at sprawling empty dustland separating Qatar from Saudi Arabia.
Indian migrants who work at the border in green uniforms lay on inspection platforms sheltering from the sun.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1931PO?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+Reuters%252FworldNews+%2528Reuters+World+News%2529

 

[krzepice1976]

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority has rejected the opening of airspace for flights to and from Qatar, a day after the chief executive of Qatar Airways called for international action against the boycott imposed on Doha amid a major diplomatic rift in the Gulf.

The agency said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision to impose the air blockade against Qatar was a precautionary measure and was within the kingdom's sovereign right to protect its citizens from any threat
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/saudi-arabia-refuses-open-airspace-qatar-170613134108166.html

 

[krzepice1976]

The blockade against Qatar by Gulf states was a "very complex situation" and an area where common ground had to be found, US defence secretary Jim Mattis said.

Mattis spoke on Monday ahead of talks between the US and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir in Washington, DC, as the Gulf crisis entered its second week.

The former general told the House Armed Services Committee that Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani had inherited a difficult situation and was moving in the right direction.

"I believe that Prince Thani inherited a difficult, very tough situation, and he's trying to turn the society in the right direction," Mattis said.
But we all agree that funding of any kind of terrorist group is inimical to all of our interest."

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar last Monday, accusing it of supporting "extremists" and Iran - charges Qatar calls "baseless".

Mattis added that he believed Qatar is "moving in the right direction" when it comes to curtailing its funding of terrorism.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/mattis-qatar-blockade-complex-situation-170613064811729.html

 

[krzepice1976]

US President Donald Trump stressed on Monday that “punishing Qatar” is a positive move, referring to the decisions taken by Arab and Muslim countries to sever diplomatic and economic ties with Doha for supporting terrorism.

Referring to the need to stop financing terrorism, the US president said: “You see what is going on in Qatar”.

Trump also said the fight against terrorist financing “will end with victory”.

Earlier, Trump took to Twitter that he supported the boycotting of Qatar because of its involvement in financing and harboring terrorists.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/06/13/US-President-Donald-Trump-asserts-punishing-Qatar-a-positive-move.html

 

[krzepice1976]

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed received the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Issa bin Salman Al Khalifa on Tuesday to discuss Qatar crisis.

The Bahraini news agency said Monday that King Hamad will meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed received the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Issa bin Salman Al Khalifa on Tuesday to discuss Qatar crisis.

The Bahraini news agency said Monday that King Hamad will meet with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/06/13/Abu-Dhabi-crown-prince-receives-King-of-Bahrain-to-discuss-Qatar-crisis.html

 

[krzepice1976]

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir insisted Tuesday that Saudi Arabia has not imposed a “blockade” on Qatar by closing the border and banning Doha’s planes from its air space.

Qatar’s border with Saudi Arabia is its only land frontier, and the closure of Saudi, Bahraini and Emirati airspace to Qatar Airways jets has disrupted its normal routes.

But Al-Jubeir

, in Washington for talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who called last week for the embargo to be “eased” insisted the move was reasonable.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies accuse Qatar of supporting “terrorism” in the region, while Doha’s supporters such as Turkeyhave warned of a humanitarian crisis.

“There is no blockade of Qatar. Qatar is free to go. The ports are open, the airports are open,” Jubeir said, appearing alongside a silent Tillerson.

“What we have done is we have denied them use of our airspace, and this is our sovereign right.

“The limitation on the use of Saudi airspace is only limited to Qatari airways or Qatari-owned aircraft, not anybody else.

“The seaports of Qatar are open. There is no blockade on them. Qatar can move goods in and out whenever they want. They just cannot use our territorial waters.”

Jubeir said the closure of the border had been eased to allow divided families to be reunited, and that Saudi Arabia would send food or medical aid if needed.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2017/06/13/Saudi-FM-insists-Qatar-not-under-blockade-.html
similar report by Al-jazeera

There is no blockade of Qatar. Qatar is free to... The ports are open, the airports are open. What we have done is, we have denied them the use of our airspace and this is our sovereign right. The limitation of the use of the Saudi airspace is only limited to Qatar Airways or Qatari owned aircraft, not anybody else. The sea ports of Qatar are open. There is no blockade on them. Qatar can move its goods in an out whenever they want. They just can't use our territorial waters. So technically this is not a blockade. We have exercised our sovereign right to prohibit them of using our airspace. We have allowed the movement of families between the two countries that happens to not divide the families. And we are prepared to provide Qatar with food and medical supplies, should they need this, through the King Salman centre."

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/qatar-diplomatic-crisis-latest-updates-170605105550769.html

 

[krzepice1976]

Qatar, the world's second largest helium producer, has closed its two helium production plants because of the economic boycott imposed on it by its neighbours, industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The helium plants operated by RasGas, a subsidiary of state-owned Qatar Petroleum, were shut because Saudi Arabia closed its border with Qatar, blocking overland exports of the gas, a Qatar Petroleum official told Reuters

important info from US military

A rift between Qatar and other Arab states is not affecting US military operations, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.

"We are watching that very, very closely but we have had good cooperation from all the parties to make sure that we can continue to move freely in and out of Qatar," Joseph Dunford told a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing

.Negotiation will no be easy

Al Jazeera Media Network is an "internal affair" and there will be no discussion about the fate of the Doha-based broadcaster with nations that imposed a blockade on Qatar, its Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a press conference in Paris on Monday.
He said Qatar does not accept "foreign dictations". "Doha rejects discussing any matter related to Al Jazeera channel as it considers it an internal affair," Qatar News Agency quoted the foreign minister as saying.
"Decisions concerning the Qatari internal affairs are Qatari sovereignty - and no one has to interfere with them."

Kuwati opinion

Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has said it was difficult for him to see the crisis among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council almost four decades after participating in building the alliance.
"It is quite difficult for us, the generation that built the GCC 37 years ago, to see the divisions among its members which may lead to undesirable consequences," he was quoted as saying by the state news agency Kuna.
He also said: "Almost four decades ago, I lived the first moments of building the GCC and this is why I cannot stand silent without trying to mediate for the rapprochement among the brothers. It is a duty that I cannot walk away from."
"No matter how difficult the efforts, I will do my best to mediate among the brothers," he said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/qatar-diplomatic-crisis-latest-updates-170605105550769.html