Qatar Boycott: Arab League Rues Split, MEA Claims India Unaffected
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have given Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to exit.
- The UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Maldives sever diplomatic ties with Qatar over its support for “terrorism”
- Qatar foreign ministry says it regrets the Arab nations’ ‘unjustified’ decision
- Saudi Arabia pulls Qatari troops out of the ongoing Yemen war
- Arab League Chief says he regrets split
- India will not be affected, says MEA
- Qatar asks citizens to leave UAE within 14 days
Al Jazeera Shuts Local Office in Saudi
Following the suspension of ties between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Saudi has shut down the local Al Jazeera office.
Arab League Chief Regrets Split
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Monday expressed “regret” that many Arab countries had to snap ties with Qatar, for allegedly supporting terrorism.
Reuters also reported that he wished that the tension between countries had not reached a point that required suspension of diplomatic relations.
Qatari Ambassador Asked To Leave Egypt, Bans Flights
Egypt has has asked Qatari Ambassador to leave Cairo in 48 hours, and has recalled their senior representative from Doha, reported Reuters.
The country also banned flights originating from Qatar to enter its airspace from Tuesday.
Maldives Snaps Ties With Qatar
Following several Arab nations’ withdrawal of ties with Qatar, Maldives also announced the snapping of diplomatic ties with the country.
Diplomatic relations between Qatar and Maldives began in 1984, according to AP.
FIFA Declines To Comment On Qatar
FIFA said that it would continue to be in "regular contact" with the organising committee of the 2022 Football World Cup in Qatar, while choosing not to comment on Qatar’s sudden diplomatic situation.
The local World Cup organising committee in Qatar and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC,) both declined to comment on the situation.
'Resolve Through Dialogue' Says Iran
Iran called on its gulf neighbours to resolve the issue between Arab nations and Qatar through dialogue and said that heightened tensions would not be conducive to resolving any conflict in the middle-east, reported Reuters, quoting a local newspaper.
Qatar Asks Citizens To Leave UAE
Following UAE’s decision to cut ties with Qatar, for allegedly supporting terrorism, the Qatar embassy asked its citizens to leave UAE within 14 days in compliance with the country’s decision.
Some Egyptian Banks Halt Dealings
Some Egyptian banks halted any transaction with Qatar banks, confirmed four-Cairo based bankers to Reuters.
The move comes after five Arab countries cut off their ties with Qatar, for allegedly supporting “terrorism”.
"India Won't be Affected": MEA
Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, while addressing a press conference on Monday, said that India will not be affected by the snapping of ties with Qatar by other Arab countries.
Kremlin Calls For Peace
Commenting on the decision made by different Arab countries to cut ties with Qatar, Russia on Monday said that it wanted a "stable and peaceful" situation in the Gulf, reported Reuters.
Turkish Foreign Minister Calls For Dialogue
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Monday said that dialogue must continue between the Arab nations in the Qatar dispute.
Qatar Stocks Tumble
Following the Arab nations’ boycott of Qatar for allegedly supporting terrorism, Qatar’s main stock exchange fell by 8 percent during the early trading.
According to AP, this gulf rift has sent the price of crude oil higher.
Libya's Eastern-Based Govt Breaks Ties With Qatar
Libya’s eastern-based government has also joined the bandwagon and announced plans to snap diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Flydubai, Emirates Suspend Flights Between Dubai and Doha
Dubai-based budget carrier FlyDubai and Emirates said on Monday that they would suspend flights to and from Doha from Tuesday.
In response, Qatar Airways has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.
Now Yemen Boycotts Qatar
Yemen’s internationally recognised government cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, state news agency Saba reported.
“Qatar’s practices of dealing with the (Houthi) coup militias and supporting extremist groups became clear,” the government said in a statement.
It added that Yemen supported a decision by a Saudi-led coalition fighting for more than two years to oust the Houthis from the capital Sanaa to remove Qatar from its ranks announced earlier on Monday.
'Not a Solution for Regional Crisis'
A senior Iranian official said the decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar would not help end the crisis in the Middle East.
“The era of cutting diplomatic ties and closing borders... is not a way to resolve crisis... As I said before, aggression and occupation will have no result but instability,” Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday.
Regret the Unjustified Decision: Qatar Foreign Ministry
Qatar said it regretted a coordinated decision by the four Gulf nations to cut diplomatic relations on Monday.
“The measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact,” Qatar-based al Jazeera TV quoted the foreign ministry as saying.
Qatar said the decisions would “not affect the normal lives of citizens and residents” and said that it was facing a campaign of lies and fabrications aimed at putting the Gulf Arab state under guardianship.
It added that, as a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, it was committed to its charter, respected the sovereignty of other states and did not interfere in their affairs.
Pak Says Will Not Snap Ties With Qatar
Pakistan has no immediate plans to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, the country's foreign ministry said on Monday.
The country “has no such plans,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said.
GCC Should Sort out Their Differences: Tillerson
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he does not expect a decision by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain to sever ties with Qatar on Monday to have a significant effect on the fight against Islamic State.
“I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified – the unified – fight against terrorism in the region or globally,” Tillerson told reporters in Sydney after meetings between Australian and US foreign and defence ministers.
Tillerson urged the GCC nations to sort out their differences instead.
Saudi Arabia Urges "Brotherly Countries" to Sever Ties With Qatar
Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic relations and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar on Monday, saying the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and extremism.
The official state news agency, citing an official source, said Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar “proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism”.
Saudi Arabia also urged “all brotherly countries and companies to do the same”.
Saudi Arabia said it had pulled all Qatari troops from the ongoing war in Yemen.
Egypt Closes Airspace, Seaports For Qatar
Egypt announced the closure of its airspace and seaports for all Qatari transportation to protect its national security, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
UAE Wants Qatari Diplomats to Leave Within 48 Hrs
The UAE cut ties and gave diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, citing their “support, funding and embrace of terrorist, extremist and sectarian organisations”, state news agency WAM said.
Abu Dhabi’s state-owned Etihad Airways said it will suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.
The last flight from Abu Dhabi to Doha will depart at 02:45 local time on Tuesday, the airline's spokesman said in an email.
Qatar Supports Terror Groups Linked to Iran: Bahrain
Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement early Monday saying it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from the Qatari capital of Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.
The ministry’s statement said Qatari citizens needed to leave Bahrain within two weeks and that air and sea traffic between the two countries would be halted. It wasn’t immediately clear how that would affect Qatar Airways, one of the region’s major long-haul carriers.
Qatar Faces Four Gulf Nations' Backlash Over 'Terror' Support
Four Arab nations – Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, early on 5 June, over the country’s support for Islamist groups and for meddling in the affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members.
The coordinated move dramatically escalates a simmering dispute after a recent hacking allegation that revived a row accusing Qatar of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood – labelled as a terrorist organisation by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The row erupted days after the first visit by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, during which he sought to galvanise the fight against Islamist militancy and Iran, which Washington sees as a threat to regional stability.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters)
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