Tabnak – As the diplomatic spat between Qatar and
some of the of the other Middle East Arab countries continues, it seems that
there’s a little space for mediating efforts to be successful. In this vein,
there is still not a clear sign that Kuwaiti emir’s latest visit to Riyadh has
brought any fruits.
Press TV writes in a report that he Kuwaiti emir
has engaged in shuttle diplomacy to help mediate a solution to the dispute
between Qatar on the one side and Saudi Arabia and its allies on the other, the
biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the Persian Gulf region in years.
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Tuesday that
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al Sabah had paid a "brotherly visit” to Saudi
Arabia. The Saudi state news agency reported that King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al
Saud and Sheikh Sabah discussed the development of events in the region,” but
gave no further details.
Additionally, Kuwait’s Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website
said that the Kuwaiti emir was expected to travel to the Emirati capital, Abu
Dhabi, and then to Doha. Qatar had earlier welcomed mediation to resolve the
crisis.
In an interview on Monday with Al Jazeera, Qatari Foreign
Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler had asked
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar's ruling emir, to hold off on giving a
speech about the crisis late on Tuesday night.
Sheikh Sabah called on Qatar's ruler to focus on
easing tension and advised against making decisions that could escalate the
situation, Kuwait state news agency Kuna said.
However, against Kuwaiti efforts, it seems that
even more Arab states are distancing themselves from Doha, following Saudi
lead. In this vein, Jordan announced that Amman has decided to reduce its
diplomatic status after studying reasons behind the tension between Egypt,
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain with Qatar.
Jordanian government Spokesman Mohammed Momani
said in a statement that the decision was made to ensure regional stability,
coordinate the policies of Arab countries and "end the crises in our
region."
He also stressed Amman has decided to cancel
license for the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera news channel’s office in Jordan, adding
that he hoped that tensions will be dissolved to build a better future for this
region
A Jordanian government source also said early
Wednesday that the Qatari ambassador in Amman has been asked to leave the
country within days, Al-Arabiya News Channel reported.
At the same time, the UAE banned people from
publishing any expressions of sympathy with Qatar, saying the offenders would
face a jail term of up to 15 years. The UAE-based Gulf News daily quoted
Emirati Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as threatening the sympathizers
with Doha with strict measures.
Meanwhile, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has
said Qatar must take several steps, including ending its alleged support for
the Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas and Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, to
restore ties with Persian Gulf Arab countries.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the
United Arab Emirates broke off relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of
supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region. They also suspended all
land, air and sea traffic with Qatar, ejected its diplomats and ordered Qatari
citizens to leave their countries. Some other countries has followed Saudi lead
since then.
