Saudi-Qatar Rift

pmaitra

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BTW, what's up with Maldives? Why is it acting like a marionette of Saudi Arabia? India should consider sending "democracy" there.
 

pmaitra

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New Leaked Emails Show How Qatar Crisis Developed In The U.S.
The UAE ambassador called U.S. partner nation Qatar “corrupt” and Trump-linked GOP commentator Elliott Abrams joked about a military takeover there.
By Akbar Shahid Ahmed | [SOURCE]

WASHINGTON ― An unnamed source who late last week leaked emails between a powerful ambassador and top figures in the U.S. foreign policy community shared a fresh batch of private messageswith HuffPost on Sunday just hours before a new Middle East crisis erupted.

The new dump appears to contain messages between the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the U.S., Yousef Al Otaiba and top members of the Obama administration as well as figures at the Atlantic Council, an influential Washington think tank that receives funding from the Emirates, and Elliott Abrams, a prominent official in former President George W. Bush’s administration who is popular among some Trump administration officials.

Late Sunday, Otaiba’s nation, the UAE, and three other U.S.-friendly countries ― Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain ― announced that they had severed ties with their neighbor Qatar, a wealthy nation which hosts the largest American military facility in the region. The weekend email dump shows the ambassador and others privately blasting Qatar.

The dramatic change in diplomatic ties came after a leak of messages that showed Otaiba communicating with former Defense Secretary Bob Gates and prominent alumni of the Bush and Obama teams about his disdain for Qatar, his desire to shut down the U.S. military base there and his support for public criticism of the country. The stream of leaks also showed the level of tension among U.S. partners despite President Donald Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East and the scale of a campaign targeting one of the most important diplomats in the U.S.

In a message accompanying the latest dump, the source claimed the emails were meant to expose how moneyed foreigners hijack U.S. foreign policy to their own benefit and Americans’ loss. The source had previously denied any ties to Qatar. HuffPost has confirmed the authenticity of six of the email exchanges.

On Feb. 10, 2015, Otaiba emailed Abrams a link to an Atlantic Council post suggesting that Qatar was intervening in Egypt to support the Muslim Brotherhood movement and undermine the country’s government, run by a former general close to the UAE.

“Hadn’t seen this. VERY interesting,” Abrams, the former White House director for democracy, human rights and international operations, wrote. “Too bad the Qatari armed forces can’t ... well, I shouldn’t say such things. That would be undemocratic.”

Contacted by HuffPost, Abrams declined to explain what action he was hoping for from Qatar’s military. In Egypt, the military in 2013 overthrew the country’s first democratically elected government, which was dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

In a Sunday email, Abrams said he and Otaiba have been friends for years; they email frequently. “Qatari foreign policy has been the subject of many of those emails, but after fifteen years we haven’t seen much change,” he wrote.

A notable remark from Otaiba appears in the second confirmed exchange in July 2015. Atlantic Council analyst Bilal Saab wrote to the ambassador recommending a documentary about the legal troubles of the international soccer association, known as FIFA, which will host its high-profile 2022 World Cup event in Qatar. Otaiba replied: “FIFA and Qatar combined are the poster children for corruption.”

A third exchange in August, 2014, shows Saab sending Otaiba a link to an op-ed about tensions between Qatar and its neighbors with the subject line “things getting worse...”

On Sunday, Saab said he maintains relations with officials in both Qatar and the UAE, and was disappointed with efforts to boost public skepticism about Qatar in the U.S., including a recent conference that Otaiba touted. “I’ve sought his advice, I’ve sought his insight, knowing full well that obviously [Otaiba] is someone who protects his country’s interest,” Saab said.

The fourth confirmed exchange was between Jessica Ashoosh, a researcher at the Atlantic Council and former UAE employee, and officials inside the UAE government to help plan interviews for a report Ashoosh worked on with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former national security advisor Stephen Hadley.

Now the director of policy at Reddit, Ashoosh on Sunday said the correspondence concerned work that was entirely public and intended to aid U.S. foreign policy.

The fifth and sixth exchanges authenticated by HuffPost relate to the contentious question of foreign governments funding policy research in the U.S. The leaks show Atlantic Council president Fred Kempe emailing Otaiba, discussing payments from the Emirati government and seeking help in securing sponsorship for a council conference.

“All our funding from the UAE has been listed in our annual report and donor list and is cleared by our Nominating and Governance Committee as complying with our standards,” Kempe wrote in a Sunday email to HuffPost.

Otaiba and two other individuals named in the email exchanges did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Earlier this week, HuffPost confirmed the authenticity of the eight most significant email exchanges in the previous leak.

In the Sunday message, the source repeated that they are not personally opposed to the UAE or Qatar. Qatar and the UAE have been openly, viciously squabbling for over two weeks now.

In previous exchanges with HuffPost, the source claimed to support President Donald Trump because of his oft-made pronouncements that his administration will focus on American interests above all.

“The [group of leaked emails] will show you how [the UAE] played both sides pro and against Trump depending on the situation which shows a dual character,” the source wrote on Sunday. “They may have been able to manipulate our media in the past but our media journalists will bring truth to limelight when they realize the lobbying done by Gulf and African countries in the USA is for their interest and not Americans.”

The source has used “we” and “I” interchangeably in messages; HuffPost has not yet been able to confirm whether the leaks are coming from an individual or a group.

Asked in a Friday email whether it was a group and whether they were American, the source wrote, “I prefer not to answer this.”

On Monday, the U.S. ambassador to Qatar ― a critic of Otaiba’s efforts ― reiterated Washington’s support for the relationship, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Trump administration might play a moderating role in the dispute.

This article has been updated as the authenticity of leaked emails has been confirmed, with comments from some of those involved in the exchanges and with updates about Arab states cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Do you have information you want to share with HuffPost? Here’s how.
 

abu bakr

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http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...ahrain-and-Egypt-severed-ties-with-Qatar.html

Reasons why Saudi, UAE, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt severed ties with Qatar

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt severed ties with Qatar on Monday morning, following a diplomatic rift in the Gulf region in recent weeks.

Saudi Arabia
According to the Saudi Press Agency, Saudi Arabia has taken this decision as a result of “ serious and systematic violations committed by the authorities in Doha over the past years with the aim of creating strife among Saudi internal ranks, undermining its sovereignty and embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region.”

Among the extremist groups Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of supporting and harboring were the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and al-Qaeda, by means incitement through its media channels.

“Qatar has also supported the activities of the Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the Qatif province of Saudi Arabia and in neighboring Kingdom of Bahrain. It has also financed, adopted and is harboring extremists who seek to destabilize unity at home and abroad. It has used the media that seeks to fan internal strife. Saudi Arabia has also been made aware that authorities in Doha have supported Houthi militias even after the declaration of the coalition to support the legitimate government in Yemen,” the statement added.

UAE
In a statement, the UAE announced its full support for the Saudi stance towards Qatar, saying the Gulf state has threatened stability and security in the region, and has manipulated and shirked responsibilities and agreements made with the Gulf states.

The UAE has given Qatar's diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi 48 hours to leave the country after what it said where “Doha’s several policies which destabilizes the security and stability of the region and manipulates commitments”.

It also warned Qatari citizens they had 14 days to leave the UAE. Citizens from Qatar have also been banned from "even passing through the UAE".

A statement on UAE's official news agency WAM's twitter account said "Emiratis are now banned from visiting or even passing by Qatar at all means".

Bahrain
Meanwhile, Bahrain decided to sever ties with its neighbor “on the insistence of the State of Qatar to continue destabilizing the security and stability of the Kingdom of Bahrain and to intervene in its affairs”.

A statement also said Qatar’s incitement of the media and supporting of terrorist activities and financing groups linked to Iran were reasons behind the decision.

“(Qatar has) spread chaos in Bahrain in flagrant violation of all agreements and covenants and principles of international law Without regard to values, law or morals or consideration of the principles of good neighborliness or commitment to the constants of Gulf relations and the denial of all previous commitments,” the statement read.

Qatari citizens have 14 days to leave Bahraini territories while Qatari diplomats were given 48 hours to leave the country after being expelled. Meanwhile, Bahrain has also banned all of its citizens from visiting or residing in Qatar after the severance of ties.

"The dangerous Qatari practices have not been confined to the Kingdom of Bahrain, but have also been extended to sister countries that have been informed that such acts reflect a very dangerous pattern which cannot be ignored or accepted and must be addressed with full strength and firmness," a statement added.

Egypt
A statement to come out from Egypt indicates that one of the reasons was the Qatari government’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, which Cairo has designated a terrorist group.

“Qatar’s has promoted al-Qaeda's ideology, and given support to ISIS and terrorist operations in the Sinai. Qatar's has insisted on interfering in the internal affairs of Egypt and the countries of the region in a manner that threatens Arab national security and promotes the seeds of sedition and division within the Arab societies,” the statement read.

Yemen
Yemen's government accused Qatar of working with its enemies of the Iran-aligned Houthi militia, state news agency Saba reported.

"Qatar's practices of dealing with the (Houthi) coup militias and supporting extremist groups became clear," the government said in a statement.

It added that Yemen supported a decision by a Saudi-led coalition fighting for more than two years to oust the Houthis from the capital Sanaa to remove Qatar from its ranks.

Closing of borders
Saudi Arabia has closed air, land and sea borders with Qatar. The UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have closed both air and sea borders with Qatar. Also, the Arab coalition has said it has suspended Qatar’s participation in all efforts to restore legitimacy in Yemen.

The coalition said it severed all ties with Qatar given the latter’s dealings with militias and its support of al-Qaeda and ISIS as reasons behind the decision, a statement read.

Doha has long faced accusations that it is a state sponsor of terror. Qatari individuals have been sanctioned by the US Treasury for terror-financing activities.

It was also criticized for providing a sanctuary to former Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal, who earlier this month used his Doha base -- where he has lived in exile for several years -- to launch a new policy document.

The Afghan Taliban opened an office in Doha in 2013.

 

captscooby81

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Oh they have drifted long out of our Democracy days ..Its heading into islamic state thanks to Saudi funding mosques and pakistan influence backed by the chinese who are now going to have a port and airport base in Maldives sooner to dominate IOR region and India ...

No point sending troops to bring back democracy in the Atoll ..Best lets fire some Brahmos and finish of those little pigs once and forever ...

BTW, what's up with Maldives? Why is it acting like a marionette of Saudi Arabia? India should consider sending "democracy" there.
 

Razor

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Isn't one of those oil sheikhdoms a protectorate of India? Which one is it? Qatar or Oman?
It's Oman, I don't know if it is a protectorate though.

Anyway, I heard this Qatar issue is b'coz Qatar said Trump was shit (figuratively) and they said some good things (figuratively) about Iran.

Is this true? If so then these are two big No-No's is KSA's play book.
 

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Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE cut diplomatic ties to Qatar; plan to shut land border with Arab country

WorldAPJun, 05 2017 14:57:09 IST


Dubai: Four Arab nations cut diplomatic ties to Qatar on Monday over its relations with Iran and support of Islamist groups, isolating the tiny energy rich country by cutting off its land, sea and air routes to the outside world.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began withdrawing their diplomatic staff from Qatar as regional airlines quickly announced they'd suspend service to its capital, Doha.

Qatar, which will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup and is home to some 10,000 American troops at a major US military base, criticised the move as a "violation of its sovereignty." However, it immediately wreaked havoc with long-haul carrier Qatar Airways, sent its stock market tumbling and raised questions about how a country reliant on food imports would be affected.


File image of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Wikimedia Commons

Saudi Arabia also said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing war in Yemen. Yemen's internationally backed government, which no longer holds its capital and large portions of the country, also cut relations with Qatar.

The countries all ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation. The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats from their territories.

Qatar's foreign affairs ministry said there was "no legitimate justification" for the countries' decision, though it vowed its citizens wouldn't be affected by it.

"The Qatari government will take all necessary measures to ensure this and to thwart attempts to influence and harm the Qatari society and economy," it said.

All the nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. Saudi Arabia said it also would shut its land border with Qatar, effectively cutting off the country from the rest of the Arabian Peninsula.

Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers that routinely flies through Saudi airspace, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Some of its flights were going through Iranian airspace Monday.

Etihad, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, said it would suspend flights to Qatar "until further notice." Emirates, the Dubai-based carrier, announced it too would suspend Qatar flights starting Tuesday, as did budget carrier FlyDubai.

Even before Monday, Qatar had appeared unperturbed by the growing tensions. On 27 May, Qatar's ruling emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, called Iranian President Hasan Rouhani to congratulate him on his re-election.

The call was a clear, public rebuttal of Saudi Arabia's efforts to force Qatar to fall in line against the Shiite-ruled nation, which the Sunni kingdom sees as its No. 1 enemy and a threat to regional stability. Qatar shares a massive offshore gas field with the Islamic Republic.

Qatar is also home to the sprawling Al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command. It wasn't clear if the decision would affect American military operations. Central Command officials and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Saudi Arabia said it took the decision to cut diplomatic ties due to Qatar's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region" including the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State group and groups supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive Eastern Province. Egypt's foreign ministry accused Qatar of taking an "antagonist approach" toward Egypt and said "all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed."

The tiny island nation of Bahrain blamed Qatar's "media incitement, support for armed terrorist activities and funding linked to Iranian groups to carry out sabotage and spreading chaos in Bahrain" for its decision. The US Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, did not respond to a request for comment about whether the decision would affect its operations.

In Sydney, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he didn't believe the diplomatic crisis would affect the war against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.

"I think what we're witnessing is a growing list of disbelief in the countries for some time, and they've bubbled up to take action in order to have those differences addressed," Tillerson said. "We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences."

The decision comes after Qatar alleged in late May that hackers took over the site of its state-run news agency and published what it called fake comments from its ruling emir about Iran and Israel. Its Gulf Arab neighbours responded with anger, blocking Qatari-based media, including the Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera.

Qatar long has faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support of Islamists. The chief worry among them is the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist political group outlawed by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE as it challenges the nations' hereditary rule.

Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia fell out with Qatar over its backing of then-Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member. In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar over the rift. Eight months later, they returned their ambassadors as Qatar forced some Brotherhood members to leave the country and quieted others. However, the 2014 crisis did not see a land and sea blockade as threatened now.

In the time since, Qatar repeatedly and strongly denied it funds extremist groups. However, it remains a key financial patron of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and has been the home of exiled Hamas official Khaled Mashaal since 2012. Western officials also have accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

Global oil prices rose 1.24 percent to $50.57 a barrel in early trading Monday in Asia amid the Gulf diplomatic crisis. The Qatar Stock Exchange fell 7 percent.

Kuwait, which earlier had tried to mediate the crisis, had no immediate comment.

The crisis comes after US President Donald Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia for a summit with Arab leaders. Since the meeting, unrest in the region has grown.

At that Saudi conference, Trump met with Qatar's ruling emir.

"We are friends, we've been friends now for a long time, haven't we?" Trump asked at the meeting. "Our relationship is extremely good."
 

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US says break with Qatar by some Gulf nations won't affect counter-terrorism

WorldReutersJun, 05 2017 12:33:52 IST
#Bahrain#Egypt#Jim mattis#Newstracker#Qatar#Rex tillerson#Saudi arabia#United arab emirates
Sydney: US secretary of state Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Monday that they did not expect a decision by some Gulf countries to sever ties with Qatar to affect the fight against terrorism but urged them to address their differences.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism, in an unprecedented breach between the most powerful members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.


Representational image. Reuters

The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional arch-rival Iran.

"I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified — the unified — fight against terrorism in the region or globally," Tillerson told reporters in Sydney after meetings between Australian and US foreign and defence ministers.

The region plays an important role for the US military in the fight against Islamic State. Bahrain houses the US Navy's Fifth fleet, which patrols the seas of the Middle East and Central Asia, while Qatar is home to the Al Udeid Airbase, from where the United States carries out airstrikes against militants in the region.

The decision comes during a critical moment in the fight against Islamic State. The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia said on Saturday that it was days away from a US-backed operation by Syrian forces to capture Islamic State's Syrian "capital" of Raqqa.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias backed by the US-led coalition, has been encircling Raqqa since November in a multi-phased campaign to drive Islamic State from the city where it has planned attacks on the West.

The assault on Raqqa will pile more pressure on Islamic State's self-declared "caliphate" with the group facing defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and being forced into retreat across much of Syria, where Deir al-Zor is its last major foothold.

Tillerson urged the Gulf Cooperation Council nations to sort out their differences and said that the United States was willing to play a role in helping the countries address their differences.
 

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After UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia blacklist Qatar, price of oil likely to skyrocket
BusinessIANSJun, 05 2017 14:45:27 IST
#Bahrain#Egypt#Gulf#Oil prices#Qatar#Qatar exchange index#Saudi arabia#Uae#Yemen
Dubai: The price of oil gained over 1 percent while stock prices in the Gulf retreated across the board after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.

Markets reacted to the escalation of the diplomatic row in the Gulf region and sent the price of oil 1.04 percent higher to $50.47 per barrel, Xinhua news agency reported.

In Doha, the Qatar Exchange Index plummeted 7.94 percent to hit 9,135, marking an 18-month low.


Reuters

In the UAE, the Dubai financial market DFM dived 1.36 percent one hour after opening and fell below 3,300. Bank shares in particular posted heavy losses.

Media reports indicated that all UAE airlines, including budget flyer FlyDubai and Etihad from Abu Dhabi, will stop flying to Qatar from Tuesday.

In Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, the ADX General Index declined by 0.36 percent, trading around 4,467.

The Bahraini All-Share Index bucked the regional slump and gained 0.58 percent.
 

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US secretary of state Rex Tillerson urges Gulf states to address differences, stay united
WorldAFPJun, 05 2017 11:22:05 IST
#Donald trump#Etihad#Gcc#Huthi rebels#Newstracker#Qatar#Rex tillerson#Saudi arabia#Uae#Yemen

Qatar: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Monday called on Gulf states to stay united and work out their differences after several nations cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

"We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences," he said in Sydney.

"If there's any role that we can play in terms of helping them address those, we think it is important that the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) remain united."


File image of US secretary of state Rex Tillerson. Reuters

In the region's most serious diplomatic crisis in years, Qatar's Gulf neighbours Riyadh, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as well as Egypt all announced they were severing ties with gas-rich Qatar.

Riyadh cut diplomatic relations and closed borders with its neighbour to "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism", the official Saudi Press Agency said. Earlier on Monday, UAE's Etihad announced that it would be suspending flights to Qatar.

A Saudi-led coalition which for more than two years has been fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen separately announced Qatar was no longer welcome in the alliance, accusing it of supporting terrorist organisations.

Qatar had assigned warplanes to the coalition conducting air strikes against Yemen's Huthi rebels.

Tillerson said despite the impasse, he did not expect it to have "any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally".

"All of those parties you mentioned have been quite unified in the fight against terrorism and the fight against Islamic State, and have expressed that most recently in the summit in Riyadh," he added.

Less than a month ago, US president Donald Trump visited the region to cement ties with powerhouse Saudi Arabia — the first foreign stop of his young presidency.

In a Riyadh speech to Muslim leaders from around the world, Trump urged them to "drive out" extremists and "terrorists", as Sunni jihadists carry out attacks in many countries.
 

Innocent

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As Gulf Nations Move to Isolate Qatar, Here's How India and Indians Figure In

Pranay Upadhyay | CNN-News18

Updated: June 5, 2017, 1:32 PM IST

http://www.news18.com/news/india/as...-how-india-and-indians-figure-in-1422393.html


New Delhi: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism, in an unprecedented breach between the most powerful members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar's support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional arch-rival Iran.

A split between Doha and its closest allies can have repercussions around the Middle East where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.



From the perspective of India, here’s how the developments are likely to affect New Delhi-Doha ties and Indians who make up the largest expatriate group in Qatar.

TRAVEL

Travel for Indians to Qatar is unlikely to be affected as flights from India take the Persian Gulf route to Doha. The limits placed on air space access by the Saudi-led grouping won’t have any impact over the Persian Gulf.

INDIANS IN QATAR

Direct travel for Indians living in Qatar to the UAE, which also has a sizeable population of Indians, may be difficult as it has joined Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain in denying air space to Doha. Indian expats in Qatar may have to re-route their travel to these countries with multiple stops.

ALSO READ | Saudi Arabia-led Bloc Cuts Ties With Qatar Over 'Support to ISIS, Al-Qaeda'

TRADE AND DEFENCE TIES

India shares strong defence and economic ties with Qatar. India’s exports to Doha crossed the billion-dollar mark to touch $ 1.05 billion in 2014-15 and total bilateral trade reached $15.67 billion.

Indian contractors Larsen & Turbo (L&T) in March 2014 won a QR 2.1 billion road project in Qatar. It also secured a $740 million order from Qatar Railways Co for the design and construction of the rail line for the Doha Metro project in Qatar.

New Delhi also enjoys warm ties with regional leader Saudi Arabia but won’t have to pick sides as the feud mostly relates to intra-GCC dynamics and geopolitics over Doha’s support of Muslim Brotherhood and alleged support to the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

GAS SUPPLIES

India's Petronet LNG said it did not expect any impact on gas supplies from Qatar, which has the world’s third largest gas reserves. "I don't think there will be any impact on it. We get gas directly from Qatar by sea," RK Garg, head of finance at Petronet, told Reuters.

Petronet LNG, India's biggest gas importer, buys 8.5 million tonnes a year of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar under a long-term contract. It also buys additional volumes from Qatar under spot deals.
 

Innocent

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Qatar Denounces 'Unjustified' Cutting of Ties by Other Gulf Countries
AFP

Updated: June 5, 2017, 1:33 PM IST

http://www.news18.com/news/world/qa...-of-ties-by-other-gulf-countries-1422639.html

Doha: Qatar on Monday slammed the decisions of three Gulf states and Egypt to sever ties with it, saying they were "unjustified" and aimed to put Doha under political "guardianship".

"The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims," the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the unprecedented steps taken by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

"The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its (Qatar's) sovereignty as a state," it added.
 

ezsasa

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Qataris had fingers in too many pies, this was bound to happen.

They had been trying to redefine themselves as a mediator-in-chief for the ummah, in return they hoped violence won't come to their door step.

I guess Saudi wants the complete ownership of mediator-in-chief title, all for itself.
 

airtel

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Leaders and markets react to Gulf diplomatic rift
US urges Gulf states to resolve differences, as Tehran says moves against Qatar will not help bring Middle East peace. o_Oo_Oo_O




US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks to reporters in Sydney [Jason Reed/Reuters]
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, three out of six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), along with Egypt, announced on Monday they were severing diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Qatar's foreign ministry reacted by saying it regretted the Arab countries' "unjustified decision".

The move escalated a row following a recent hack of the Qatari state-news agency, and sent stocks in gas-rich Qatar plunging and the oil of price rising.



Asked about the coordinated moves against Qatar, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged the Gulf countries to resolve their differences.

"It is important that the GCC remain a unified [front]," he told reporters during a visit in Sydney, Australia.

Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East and is set to host the 2022 football World Cup.

Tillerson said that he did not expect the rift "to have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism" regionally or globally.

"All of those parties you mentioned have been quite unified in the fight against terrorism and the fight against Daesh [ISIL] and have expressed that most recently in the summit in Riyadh," he added, referring to a recent Arab-Islamic-American summit in the Saudi capital during US President Donald Trump's first foreign trip.

During that visit, Trump singled out Iran as a key source of finance and support for armed groups, describing the Islamic Republic as "the world's biggest funder of terrorism".



Iran called Trump's allegations "unacceptable", and on Monday a senior Iranian official said the moves against Qatar would not help end the crisis in the Middle East

"The era of cutting diplomatic ties and closing borders is over ... it is not a way to resolve crisis. These countries have no other option but to start regional dialogue," Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted on Monday.

"What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance," he said, in an apparent reference to Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia where the US leader and officials were filmed performing a traditional dance with their hosts.



The economic fallout loomed immediately, as Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways, Dubai's Emirates Airline and budget carriers FlyDubai and AirArabia said they would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

Oil prices rose after the four countries said they would cut ties with Qatar, which is the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas and a major seller of condensate - a low-density liquid fuel and refining product derived from natural gas.

The Qatari stock index sank 7.6 percent in the first hour of trade, with some of the market's top blue chips hit the hardest.

Other GCC stock markets also fell, with Dubai losing 0.8 percent and Saudi Arabia falling 0.2 percent.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies


http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/...act-gulf-diplomatic-rift-170605095851537.html
 

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Saudis and Yemen say Qatar backs Houthis

Bahrain says Qatar backs ISIS & Al-Qaeda.

Why the hell would they back two completely opposite ideologies with completely opposite goals?
 

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Qatar hits back as Saudi, Egypt, UAE cut diplomatic, transport ties

Qataris must leave Saudi Arabia within 14 days, and all 'land, sea and aviation' links have been severed



Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Bahrain in December 2016 (AFP)

MEE and agencies

Monday 5 June 2017 08:18 UTC
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Monday 5 June 2017 10:57 UTC
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Qatar has slammed the decision of three Gulf states and Egypt to sever ties with it on Monday, saying they were "unjustified" and aimed to put Doha under political "guardianship" as Turkey called for dialogue.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut their ties with Qatar and expelled the Gulf state from the coalition fighting the war in Yemen, accusing it of supporting terrorism. It opens up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.

"The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims," the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the unprecedented step.

'The measures are unjustified and are based on false and baseless claims'

- Qatari foreign ministry

"The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its (Qatar's) sovereignty as a state," it added.

To "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism" Riyadh decided to "sever diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and to close all land, sea and aviation" links, a Saudi official cited by the official Saudi Press Agency said.

Riyadh ordered its nationals to leave Qatar within 14 days and barred Qataris from the kingdom.

"(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly," SPA said, in an apparent reference to Qatar's influential state-owned channel Al Jazeera.

The statement accused Qatar of supporting what it described as Iranian-backed militants in Saudi's restive and largely Shia Muslim-populated eastern region of Qatif and in Bahrain.

Turkey 'saddened by the rift'

The coordinated move dramatically escalates a dispute over Qatar's support of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement, and adds accusations that Doha even backs the agenda of regional arch-rival Iran.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday he was saddened by the rift, and called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.

"We see the stability in the Gulf region as our own unity and solidarity," Cavusoglu told a news conference.

"Countries may of course have some issues, but dialogue must continue under every circumstance for problems to be resolved peacefully. We are saddened by the current picture and will give any support for its normalisation," Cavusoglu said.

US military base

The measures are more severe than during the previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups. But at that time, travel links were maintained and Qataris were not expelled.




A split between Doha and its closest allies is likely to have repercussions around the Middle East, where Gulf states have used their financial and political power to influence events in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and where there are significant US miltiary interests.

The diplomatic fallout also threatens the international prestige of Qatar, which is set set to host the 2022 World Cup. For years it has presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes.

The region also plays an important role for the US military in the fight against Islamic State. Bahrain houses the US Navy's Fifth fleet, which patrols the Middle East and Central Asia, while Qatar is home to the Al Udeid Airbase, from where the United States carries out air strikes against militants in the region.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Sydney on Monday that the spat would not affect the fight against Islamist militants and that Washington has encouraged its Gulf allies to resolve their differences.

"I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified - the unified - fight against terrorism in the region or globally," Tillerson told reporters in Sydney after meetings between Australian and US foreign and defence ministers.

Iran blames Trump's 'sword dance' in Saudi Arabia

The announcements come 10 days after US President Donald Trump visited Riyadh to call on Muslim countries to stand united against Islamists extremists, and singling out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

Iran said on Monday that it saw America pulling the strings.

"What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance," Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted in a reference to Trump's recent visit toSaudi Arabia.

Trump and other US officials participated in a traditional sword dance during the trip in which he called on Muslim countries to stand united against Islamist extremists and singled out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

Qatar has used its media and political strength to support long-repressed groups during the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings in several Arab countries.

Muslim Brotherhood parties allied to Doha are now mostly on the backfoot in the region, especially after a 2013 military takeover in Egypt ousted the elected Islamist president.

The former army chief and now president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, along with the new government's allies in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, blacklisted the Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation.

Egypt said on its state news agency that Qatar's policy "threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation."

Oil prices rose after the moves against Qatar, which is the biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a major seller of condensate - a low-density liquid fuel and refining product derived from natural gas.

Economic disturbances

Saudi Arabia has called on international companies to avoid Qatar, raising the prospect that it might try to make foreign firms choose between doing business in Qatar and obtaining access to the much bigger Saudi economy.

Economic disturbances loomed immediately, with the Qatari stock index sinking 7.6 percent in the first hour of trade. Some of the market's top blue chips were hit hardest, with Qatar National Bank, the country's largest bank, dropping 5.7 percent.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain announced the suspension of transport ties with Qatar, and gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their borders.

Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways said it would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain announced the suspension of transport ties with Qatar (AFP)
With an estimated $335bn of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, a trade surplus of $2.7 billion in April alone and extensive port facilities which it can use instead of its land border with Saudi Arabia, which has been closed, Qatar appears likely to be able to avoid a crippling economic crisis.

Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries traditionally account for only about 5 to 10 percent of daily trading on the Qatari stock market, according to exchange data.

But the diplomatic rift could have a serious impact on some business deals and companies in the region, particularly Qatar Airways, which can no longer fly to some of the Middle East's biggest markets.

Kunal Damle, an institutional broker at SICO Bahrain, said Qatari state funds might step in to support their market later in the day.

"(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly," SPA said.

The statement accused Qatar of supporting what it described as Iranian-backed militants in Saudi's restive and largely Shia Muslim-populated eastern region of Qatif and in Bahrain.
 

Kshatriya87

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Yemen & Libya has joined the circus now. Both of them have severed ties with Qatar as well.
 

Innocent

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India’s foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said Delhi will not not be affected by some Gulf countries cutting off diplomatic ties with Qatar.

"There is no challenge arising out of this for us," she said. "This is an internal matter of GCC. Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there."

It is in Russia’s interest to have a "stable and peaceful" situation in the Gulf, the Kremlin said.

Moscow also hopes that the current diplomatic row in the Gulf will not affect "the common determination and resolve" in the joint fight against "international terrorism", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
 
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ezsasa

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I wonder what would be the effect on LNG deal of Qatar both with us and the pakis.

We can claim neutrality and not effected due to diversification , but paki Ka kya hoga kaliya ?

They are caught between their masters and energy suppliers.. it's critical of pakiland because they recently converted some power plants to be operated on LNG.
 

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