French report: UAE sabotages efforts to solve Gulf crisis
The French news agency said in a report, quoting well-informed sources and an Arab diplomat, that the UAE is working with full force to sabotage efforts to solve the Gulf crisis.
The agency quoted the sources as saying that Abu Dhabi does not want Gulf reconciliation and is trying to keep Saudi Arabia and other countries in a position to boycott and blockade the State of Qatar and not to reconcile with it.
The agency quoted two sources, whom it described as those familiar with the Gulf reconciliation negotiations, as saying that “there are those who oppose in Abu Dhabi to restore the relations to their previous times.”
According to the researcher at Oxford University, Samuel Romany, the rapprochement between Qatar and other countries seems to come “without major concessions from Doha” after the boycott of its neighbors prompted her against the background of her accusation of supporting militant groups to enhance their self-reliance.
Analysts believe that the crisis harmed the countries boycotting Qatar more than it damaged Doha, according to a report by the French News Agency.
“It appears that Saudi Arabia has begun adopting an approach to defuse the escalation after adopting what foreign policy experts say” tough policies “that frightened foreign investors,” the report said.
On Tuesday, the Gulf states affirmed their unity and cohesion at a summit hosted by Riyadh and absent from it by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, but nevertheless carried additional indications of the possibility of a breakthrough in the crisis between the wealthy emirate and its neighbors.
A speech delivered by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the closing statement of the fortieth summit of the Cooperation Council did not address the crisis directly, but the tone was conciliatory towards the small country after about two and a half years after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut ties with it.
In June 2017, the four countries cut ties with Doha and filed a list of 13 requirements as a condition for their return after they accused Qatar of supporting extremist organizations. Qatar has rejected the accusations, and confirmed that it will not comply with the terms of the four countries.
The regional rift led to the dispersion of many families and the high cost of business after Saudi Arabia and its allies imposed an economic boycott on Qatar and prevented its planes from crossing its airspace.
But signs of a breakthrough have appeared in recent weeks.
