Dubai/Washington — Qatar is falling short in its efforts to counter terrorism, a Saudi-led alliance that is boycotting the Gulf nation says, an apparent setback to US mediation efforts after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the bloc to ease its seven-week embargo.
The group also added nine organisations based in Yemen and Libya, as well as nine people from Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen and Libya, to the list of alleged terrorist groups it accuses the Gulf nation of supporting, according to a statement published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
Steps taken by Qatar, including a memorandum of understanding with the US on anti-terrorism measures and the amendment of its own domestic antiterror law, had created some optimism that an agreement could be reached.
Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said his country was open to talks to end the standoff as long as its sovereignty was respected, while the US and Britain both called for an end to the boycott.
The announcement showed that the bloc nations were "digging their heels in" and trying to prevent Tillerson’s visit to the region from becoming a "pretext to de-escalate or enter into direct negotiations", said Graham Griffiths, an analyst at Control Risks in Dubai.
The crisis pits US allies against each other in a power struggle over regional influence
Qatar must move swiftly to pursue the groups and individuals mentioned in both the revised list and the previous one, the Saudi-led bloc said. The campaign would continue until Qatar met the group’s demands in full, it said.
Tillerson called on the group to end the campaign as "a sign of good faith" and said the US was satisfied with Qatar’s efforts in implementing the antiterrorism agreement signed during his Doha trip.
Britain later joined his call, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson welcoming Qatar’s "commitment to combat terrorism" and expressing hope for the start of "substantive discussions on remaining differences".
The alliance, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar on June 5, accusing the country of supporting Sunni extremist groups and Iranian-backed Shiite militants.
Qatar denies the charge and says the move was an attempt by Saudi Arabia to impose its will on smaller nations in the Gulf. The crisis pits US allies against each other in a power struggle over regional influence.
Saudi Arabia has strong counterterrorism ties with the US and is a top customer for American weapons. Qatar hosts the regional headquarters for the US Central Command, which includes an air base from which the US targets the Islamic State.
The standoff started after Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh in May. The US president initially sided with the Saudi-led bloc before asking Tillerson to help resolve the dispute. Mediation efforts led by Kuwait have failed so far to prevent the discord from dragging on.
Saudi and Emirati officials "counted more on Trump’s backing of them during this crisis, as opposed to the state department’s and the Pentagon’s more neutral stance," said Griffiths at Control Risks.
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini called for dialogue and engagement to "start as a matter of urgency" under the mediation of the emir of Kuwait.
Bloomberg
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