Emir of Kuwait wraps up Gulf mediation visits

Sheikh Sabah leaves Doha as part of his mediation mission that also took him to Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has left Qatar after meeting with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on efforts aimed at resolving a diplomatic rift in the Gulf.

In a meeting held in Doha on Wednesday, Sheikh Sabah briefed Sheikh Tamim on his efforts to resolve the crisis between Qatar and each of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain, Qatar state news agency QNA reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kuwait’s leader held talks in UAE’s Dubai with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 

No details have emerged about their discussions.

Also on Wednesday, Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the UAE, said “there’s nothing to negotiate” with Qatar, signalling Arab countries trying to isolate Doha will not back down.

Sheikh Sabah’s UAE trip came after meeting on Tuesday with Saudi King Salman in Jeddah, but their dialogue was also not made public.

Saudi Arabia and allies including the United Arad Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt (which is not a GCC member) on Monday cut diplomatic ties with fellow GCC state Qatar over claims Doha supports “extremism”.

Qatar strongly denies the allegations.

READ MORE – Qatar diplomatic crisis: All the latest updates

The Saudi-led alliance also imposed economic blockade over Qatar which included closing the only land border with Qatar.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said that Qatar is a “brother state” and that punitive steps against it were a well-intentioned effort to stop its support for “extremism”.

Speaking in Germany, Adel al-Jubeir said that it was “with great pain” that the measures against Qatar were taken.

“We see Qatar as a brother state, as a partner,” he told a joint press conference with German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.

Kuwait and Oman, also GCC members, did not join their neighbours in severing ties with Qatar.

The Kuwaiti emir played a pivotal role in mediating a compromise in a 2014 diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states.

Source: News Agencies