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SAUDI FIRM ON STAND

Doha 'must change policy for crisis to end'

Riyadh, March 18, 2014

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said a dispute with Qatar over Gulf security would not be solved unless Doha changed its policy, Saudi media reported on Tuesday, the kingdom's first public comment since pulling its ambassador from the Gulf state.

In an unprecedented move within the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar on March 5, accusing Doha of failing to abide by an accord not to interfere in each others' internal affairs.

Commentators say the three states are angry at fellow Council member Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

They particularly resent the way Doha has sheltered prominent Brotherhood preacher Youssef al-Qaradawi, a critic of Saudi and UAE authorities, and given him regular air time on its pan-Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera, and on Qatari state television.

"If the policy of the country that has caused the crisis (Qatar) has been revised, there will be a breakthrough," Prince Saud al-Faisal said, according to the Saudi-owned Al-Hayat newspaper.

Some reports earlier also said Al Faisal had demanded three things of Doha – to close the (Qatari-owned) Al Jazeera network; to close the the Brookings Doha Centre and the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, and turn over all outlaws on its territory.

Last week, Qatar dismissed demands by the three fellow Gulf states for changes to its foreign policy, calling its independence "non-negotiable".

The GCC, formed in 1981 and also including Kuwait and Oman, has generally presented a united front at times of threat ranging from Iranian revolution on the other side of the Gulf to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. - Reuters


 




Tags: Qatar | Saudi | GCC | policy |

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