Kuwait Intervenes in GCC Conflict
The emir of Kuwait Sabah, Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has embarked on whistle-stop diplomacy to stop a major rift worsening among Mideast Gulf states.
He is travelling to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) June 7 as part of his efforts to broker a peace deal between other Gulf Cooperation Council states and Qatar, AP reports. This follows his talks earlier the same day in Saudi Arabia aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis with Qatar.
After the UAE trip he is expected to travel to Qatar to hold talks with his counterpart in Qatar, according to reports.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen cut diplomatic ties with fellow GCC member state Qatar June 5, hitting the economy and the stock market. The Kuwaiti emir played a pivotal role in mediating a compromise in a 2014 diplomatic spat between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states.
Kuwait, also a GCC member, did not sever ties with Qatar.
According to Qatar state broadcaster al-Jazeera on May 23: "Qatar woke up to news of a hack attributing false statements to the emir of Qatar. The fake news was aired on several UAE and Saudi-owned networks in the Gulf. This sparked a series of diplomatic breakdowns between the GCC countries.
Qatar said that there is "no legitimate justification" for the actions taken by the four countries to sever diplomatic relations. It added that the decision is a "violation of its sovereignty" and that it will work to ensure that it does not affect the citizens and residents of Qatar.
On June 7, the Saudi foreign minister said that Qatar must cease its support of groups such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. "We want to see Qatar implement the promises it made a few years back with regard to its support of extremist groups, to its hostile media and interference in affairs of other countries," Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris. Saudi Arabia has also accused Qatar of being too close to Iran.
But it was Iran that faced terror attacks June 7, with 12 reported dead and many more injured in two attacks in Tehran using guns and explosives on the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini's mausoleum. Responsibility was claimed by so-called Islamic State.
William Powell