Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar

"Money talks, bullshit walks." Erdi need some money, nothing more.

 

It's look like MacDonalds accuses BurgerKing of trading unhealthy food.

 

‘Are you with us or with Qatar?’ Saudi King Salman asks Pakistan PM Sharif
Pakistan has been treading a careful path since Saudi and other Gulf countries snapped diplomatic ties with Qatar after accusing the oil-rich country of supporting terrorist groups.
WORLD Updated: Jun 14, 2017 15:09 IST

Press Trust of India, Islamabad


Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz(AFP Photo

Citing a senior government official, who was briefed on the talks at the monarch’s palace in Jeddah, the paper said that Pakistan would not take sides in any event that would create divisions within the Muslim world.

“Nevertheless, in order to placate Saudi Arabia, Pakistan offered to use its influence over Qatar to defuse the situation. For this purpose, the prime minister will undertake visits to Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey,” it said.

Sharif, accompanied by army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and other senior officials, travelled to Jeddah on Monday to discuss the emerging situation in the Gulf world.

Prime Minister Sharif’s mediation visit to Saudi did not achieve any immediate breakthrough.

According to an official statement, Sharif met King Salman in Jeddah and urged an early resolution of the impasse in Gulf in the best interest of all Muslims.


Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said King Salman and Sharif discussed the “latest regional developments” in addition to bilateral relations.

Salman told Sharif that “the fight against extremism and terrorism is in the interest of all Muslims and the Ummah”.

The SPA, while announcing the severing of relations with Qatar, had said it had been done for “protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.

Qatar, meanwhile, has indicated that it was willing to address concerns of the countries that ended diplomatic relations with it.

The current crisis in the Gulf is said to be the gravest that the Gulf Cooperation Council has faced in its nearly four decades of existence, although Qatar’s relations with Saudi and some other Arab neighbours have not always been good.

Other diplomatic efforts have so far not been successful in defusing tensions either.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad, who has been leading the diplomatic initiative, vowed to continue his efforts to resolve the ongoing crisis despite remaining unsuccessful in his earlier bid.

Saudi, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt had cut off diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on June 5 on the pretext that its policies are fuelling extremism and terrorism.

The crisis erupted late last month over fears that Qatar was trying to improve its ties with Iran, which Saudi Arabia and its allies wanted to be isolated.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world...n-pm-sharif/story-ORZnxNVd0EValylhh98R2L.html

 

https://us.yahoo.com/news/turkeys-erdogan-backs-qatar-says-calls-shut-disrespectful-053757154.html

World
Turkey's Erdogan says Arab demands on Qatar unlawful
By Mehmet Caliskan,Reuters 4 hours ago

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By Mehmet Caliskan

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday dismissed calls for Turkey to close a military base in Qatar and said a wider list of demands issued by four Arab states was an unlawful intervention against the Gulf emirate's sovereignty.

In his strongest statement of support for Qatar in the nearly three-week-old crisis centered on the Gulf state, Erdogan said the call to withdraw Turkish forces was disrespectful and that Doha - which described the demands as unreasonable - was taking the right approach.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain imposed a boycott on June 5 on Qatar and issued 13 demands including closing Al Jazeera television, curbing relations with Iran, shutting the Turkish base and paying reparations.

Doha said it was reviewing the list, but said it was not reasonable or actionable.

"We approve and appreciate the attitude of Qatar against the list of 13 demands," Erdogan, speaking outside a mosque in Istanbul, said. "...This approach of 13 demands is against international law because you cannot attack or intervene in the sovereignty of a country."

The demands are apparently aimed at dismantling Qatar's interventionist foreign policy which has incensed conservative Arab peers over its alleged support for Islamists they regard as threats to their dynastic rule.

Both Qatar and Turkey, whose ruling AK Party has its roots in Islamist politics, backed a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt before it was overthrown in 2013. The Arab states have demanded Qatar cut any links to the Brotherhood and other groups they deem to be terrorist, ideological or sectarian.

Bahrain's state news agency on Sunday confirmed the demands set out by un-named Gulf officials on Friday, including that Qatar close the Turkish base, end military cooperation with Ankara inside Qatar and stop supporting militant groups.

"The demands aim to achieve regional countries' stability, stand firmly against foreign interference and stop support for terrorist organizations," it said.

"NO PULLOUT"

Turkey, the most powerful regional country to stand by Qatar, has sent 100 cargo planes with supplies since its neighbors cut air and sea links. It has also rushed through legislation to send more troops to its base in Doha.

Two contingents of Turkish troops with columns of armored vehicles have arrived since the crisis erupted on June 5, and Defence Minister Fikri Isik said on Friday that further reinforcements would be beneficial.

"The strengthening of the Turkish base would be a positive step in terms of the Gulf's security," he said. "Re-evaluating the base agreement with Qatar is not on our agenda."

Hurriyet newspaper said last week a joint exercise by Turkish and Qatari forces was expected following the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday which started on Sunday, and the number of Turkish soldiers sent to the Gulf state could eventually reach 1,000. An air force contingent was also envisaged, it said.

Erdogan said Turkey had also offered to establish a military base in Saudi Arabia, but never received a clear answer.

"If Saudi Arabia wants us to have base there, a step toward this also can be taken," he told reporters. "I made this offer to the king himself and they said they will consider this."

"They did not come back to us since that day and even though they still didn't come back to us on this, asking Turkey to pull back its troops (from Qatar) is disrespectful against Turkey".

Speaking outside the Istanbul mosque after prayers marking the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, Erdogan said he would continue his planned program despite feeling briefly unwell.

"I had a little condition about my blood pressure, related to my diabetes," he said.

(Additional reporting by Mohammed el Sherif in Cairo; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Robert Birsel and Jane Merriman)