World community calls for dialogue while Qatar crisis deepens

By Azernews

By Kamila Aliyeva

Gulf dispute has deepened, as Saudi Arabia and its major allies issued ultimatum for ending blockade of Doha, while the latter assessed the demands as groundless.

Conflicting parties are reluctant to back away from their positions, however, the Saudi-led block decided to give Qatar another chance to meet the requirements of Arab nations which include cutting diplomatic relations with Iran, closing the Turkish military base, eliminating Al-Jazeera TV channel, extraditing all persons wanted in four countries on charges of terrorism as well as paying compensation.

Arab countries demanded from Qatar to comply with 13 points in 10 days in return for an end to the diplomatic and trade boycott of the country.

Later it was revealed that the Arab states agreed to extend the deadline for Qatar to comply with a list of demands, as Kuwait, a mediator in the dispute, requested the delay as part of his efforts to mediate the conflict in the Persian Gulf.

Kuwait had already received a response by Qatar to list of 13 demands, without revealing the issue of whether Qatar rejected the ultimatum as it was widely expected. 

There is no information about Doha's official response for now, although the Qatari Foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, announced earlier that Doha would not meet the demands, saying the list “was meant to be rejected.” He added that Doha offered instead "a proper condition for a dialogue.” 

Meanwhile, the world community continues to call both sides of the conflict for dialogue and diplomacy in order to maintain stability in the region.

U.S. President Donald Trump has spoken separately to leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi to discuss his "concerns about the ongoing dispute" in the Gulf. 

The White House said that Trump called the leaders to stress the "importance of stopping terrorist financing and discrediting extremist ideology".

He also underscored that unity in the region is critical to accomplishing the Riyadh Summit's goals of defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called for a "serious dialogue between the parties" to resolve the crisis, adding that while Berlin was "not taking sides, the conflict... affects both us and our interests."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has separately spoken with the leaders of Qatar and Bahrain, urging direct dialogue among all the states involved.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, along with Egypt, cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar in early June, accusing the country of supporting "extremism" and Iran - charges that Qatar has repeatedly denied.

The blockade has disrupted imports of food and other materials into Qatar and caused many foreign banks to scale back their business with the country.

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are expected to meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on July 5 to discuss the Gulf diplomatic crisis.