Tabnak – Despite Riyadh’s desire to turn the latest GCC summit into a show of unity among the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, disputes with Qatar seem to still overshadow the organization’s framework. Meanwhile, accusations made by the Arab bloc against Iran, has sparked a reaction from the Islamic Republic.
In this vein, the Persian Gulf Arab summit called for regional unity as Bahrain and Qatar traded barbs over the Qatari emir’s decision not to attend the gathering in Saudi Arabia on Sunday in a sign that a row between Doha and its neighbors is still festering.
Qatar sent its state minister for foreign affairs to the annual one-day summit, which was overshadowed by the economic and diplomatic boycott of Doha since mid-2017 by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt over allegations that Doha supports terrorism, which Qatar denies.
“Qatar’s emir should have accepted the fair demands (of the boycotting states) and attended the summit,” Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said in a tweet.
In response, Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Rumaihi, director of the information office at Qatar’s foreign ministry, said, “Qatar can make its own decisions and had attended (last year’s) Kuwait summit while the leaders of the boycotting countries did not.”
He later slammed the final communique for not addressing the boycott, which Qatar says aims to curtail its sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman has slammed “baseless” statements of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), saying that the council has turned into a front for proclaiming the policies of some of its member states.
In a statement on Monday, Bahram Qassemi reacted to accusations leveled against the Islamic Republic during the 39th GCC summit in Riyadh, by expressing regret about the continuation of the council’s “unconstructive approach” toward Iran.
Chairing the GCC session, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz claimed that Iran continued to promote terrorism and threaten regional stability. He also accused Iran of pursuing aggressive policies and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries.
Salman called on all GCC member states to work with international partners to maintain regional and global security and stability, and to insist on achieving full and adequate guarantees towards Iran’s nuclear program.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir says the kingdom is in talks with the United States about a new security alliance of Arab countries specifically aimed at countering Iran.
Speaking at a press briefing in Riyadh Sunday, the Saudi FM said the new pact would be similar in style to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and would seek to protect the Middle East from “external aggression.”
“Talks are continuing between the United States and the (Persian) Gulf states around this question and ideas are being drawn up,” he said at the press call, which came after the annual GCC summit.
The [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council’s summit of six member states was held as Riyadh faces international pressure over the Oct 2. murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.
