On June 5, 2017, a number of Arab countries - Bahrain , Saudi Arabia , the United Arab Emirates , Egypt , Yemen (supporters of the Hadi ) , Libya (interim government) and the Maldives , later joined by Mauritania and the Comoros - announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Qatar [ 1] [2] [3] , explaining this by the emirate’s support for terrorism and extremist ideology, its hostile policies and interference in the affairs of the Arab states. Jordan and Djibouti lower diplomatic mission. A number of countries announced the adoption of a series of harsh measures, including the cessation of maritime and air communications, the restriction of banking operations, the expulsion of diplomats and citizens of Qatar.
In addition, Qatar was directly accused of financial support for the Muslim Brotherhood , Al Qaeda , and Islamic State terrorist organizations [4] [5] , as well as friendship with Shiite Iran [6] [7] .
Start
Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are members of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States , a regional economic and political union.
The Qatari news agency Al Jazeera claims that the real cause of the conflict was a hacker attack and hacking of the website of the state Qatar news agency ( QNA ) in May 2017 (allegedly), with the publication of statements in support of Iran and Hamas , allegedly on behalf of the ruling emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani [8] . The official Doha called the video that caused the international scandal a fake, without explaining, however, its origin. Nevertheless, news agencies managed to distribute it as genuine. On June 3, 2017, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa , was also hacked. [9]
These events gave rise to a new severance of diplomatic relations, on June 5, 2017, between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain, as well as the Maldives and one of the Libyan governments on the one hand and Qatar on the other [10] [11] . In addition to economic sanctions, Qatar was expelled from the Islamic military coalition ; in addition, Qatar’s participation in the operation in Yemen “in connection with the support of terrorism in the region” was canceled [12] .
Neighboring countries, in addition, imposed a blockade on the peninsula (they previously sent diplomats briefly in 2014) [13] [14] .
At the same time, Turkey not only did not join the countries participating in the boycott, but also condemned them. The United States also did not include Qatar as a sponsor of terrorism .
Conflict Development
Gulf Air [15] , EgyptAir [16] , Emirates , Flydubai , Air Arabia , Saudi Arabian Airlines and Etihad Airways have suspended flights to and from Qatar [17] .
The Bahrain Foreign Ministry said in a statement that all Qatari diplomats in Bahrain must leave the country within 48 hours. [18]
All of these countries obligated their citizens to leave Qatar [7] . Three Gulf states (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain) gave guests from Qatar two weeks to gather [19] . A few days after the start of the blockade, Saudi Arabia and its allies somewhat eased the blockade and allowed third-country airlines to use their airspace to fly to Qatar [20] .
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said the Gulf’s decision to sever relations “ is unfounded and based on false and unfounded allegations. The goal is clear, and it is to establish control over the state. This in itself is a violation of his (Qatar) sovereignty as a state. The incitement campaign is based on a lie that has reached the point of complete fabrication ” [21] . Thus, Qatar considers the requirements put forward by the Arab countries to lift the blockade unacceptable and impracticable [22] .
On June 23, the Qatar government was transferred through the Emir of Kuwait a list of requirements of 13 items, among which the following stand out:
- the closure of Al Jazeera ,
- termination of diplomatic relations with Iran ,
- termination of military cooperation with Turkey and the liquidation of the Turkish military base [ specify ] in the country.
As measures to reduce the terrorist threat, the emirate is ordered to stop the naturalization of citizens of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, as well as to extradite all the wanted criminals who are hiding in Qatar. In addition, Qatar will need to pay monetary compensation to the Arab countries that have put forward these requirements. The emirate has 10 days to fulfill all the conditions [23] .
On 28 June , the Qatar Foreign Minister stated that Doha was ready for negotiations on the requirements of the Arab countries if they were supported by evidence [24] .
On July 4 (3?) , After the expiration of the ultimatum put forward by Qatar, the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and the Minister of Information of Kuwait, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah al-Mubarak al-Sabah, transmitted the official response of Qatar to these demands to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubeyr. The aforementioned 13 conditions in Doha were called impracticable and unrealistic [25] . The foreign ministers of the four Arab states - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt - “expressed regret at the negative response from Qatar, which indicates neglect and frivolous approach to the problem,” the document read out by the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt Sameh Shukri at the end of the consultations of the Arab Four in Cairo. In turn, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubair, said that "the boycott against Qatar will continue until Doha changes its policy" [26] .
On July 15, six Arab states (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Mauritania, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt) demanded that the International Football Federation transfer the 2022 World Cup from Qatar. They believe that Qatar is a "supporter of terrorism" and is not ready to ensure the safety of fans who will come to the tournament. If these countries are ignored, they are ready to boycott the championship [27] .
On September 9, Saudi Arabia suspended any dialogue with Qatar, accusing the country of “distorting the facts”, immediately after a telephone conversation between the leaders of both countries on resolving the Persian Gulf crisis. [28]
October 2017 - Bahrain called for freezing Qatar's membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council ( GCC ).
The economic implications of the boycott
Almost 80% of food enters the country through the territory of Saudi Arabia, and Qatar does not have its own agriculture , so the announcement of a trade blockade immediately caused an unprecedented boom in the markets. Oil prices have plummeted. Trucks with goods stuck at border crossings. The shelves of most grocery stores were quickly empty, as the people of Qatar immediately rushed to stockpile.
Representatives of Iran expressed their readiness to supply the Qatari people with food [29] [30] .
It is reported that, despite the fact that the Qatari rial rate is pegged to the US dollar, this rate “collapsed to the 2009 low,” that is, decreased by 0.1% (3.647 against 3.64 rial per dollar) [31] .
See also
- Cold War Middle East
Links
- Qatar Arab boycott: country punished for disobedience. Outraged official statements are just a smokescreen // MK , June 5, 2017
- The goal of the anti-Qatar coalition is a regime change in Doha. Qatar's ambassador in Moscow spoke about the causes of the Persian Gulf crisis // NG , 06/22/2017
- Turkey won the battle for Qatar // Reedus , June 24, 2017
- Fraternal Union of Ankara and Doha // NVO , 07/07/2017
- The crisis around Qatar: "Trump-irritant" led the mission to a standstill // EADaily, August 14, 2017
- Qatar operates in the peak of Saudi Arabia. and restored diplomatic relations with Iran in full // NG, 08.28.2017
- The mediation of Russia and the United States did not resolve the crisis around Qatar // NG, 09/13/2017
- A year under siege: failed to weaken Qatar // Vesti.ru , June 5, 2018
- Qatar seeks salvation from a trap in NATO // Glance , June 7, 2018
Notes
- ↑ Arab states sever ties with Qatar, announce blockade . ch-aviation (5 June 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt Cut Ties With Qatar , Bloomberg.com (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Qatar row: Six countries cut links with Doha . BBC News (5 June 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Arab countries accuse Qatar of supporting al Qaeda and IG Lenta.ru, June 5, 2017
- ↑ Gap in diplomatic relations with Qatar // TASS, June 5, 2017
- ↑ Ben Doherty, Patrick Wintour . Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain break diplomatic ties with Qatar over 'terrorism' (Eng.) , The Guardian (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ 1 2 4 nations cut diplomatic ties to Qatar as Arab rift deepens // Associated Press
- ↑ Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Bahrain cut ties to Qatar , AlJazeera.com (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Bahrain minister briefly hacked after Qatar cyber attack . Phys.org (3 June 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Analysis | What's going on with Qatar? . Washington Post . Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Qatar row: Five countries cut links with Doha , BBC News (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE break off diplomatic relations with Qatar. . TASS (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017. Archived on June 5, 2017.
- ↑ The Arab world turned away from Qatar: each country has its own reasons // RIA Novosti, June 5, 2017
- ↑ Ripples across the bay: what will the isolation of Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula RT in Russian lead to, June 5, 2017
- ↑ Etihad, Flydubai, Gulf Air and Air Arabia to suspend Qatar flights , Gulf Business (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ EgyptAir Suspends Flights to Qatar Until Special Notice (English) , Sputnik (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Qatar diplomatic crisis: How it affects air travel , Al Jazeera (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Qatar: 'No justification' for cutting diplomatic ties , Al Jazeera. Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Saudi, Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Yemen isolate Qatar over 'terrorism' as rift deepens (English) , Dawn (June 5, 2017). Date of treatment June 5, 2017.
- ↑ Saudi Arabia deported 15,000 camels to Qatar // Vesti.ru , June 21, 2017.
- ↑ Conditions for dialogue // RIA Novosti, June 23, 2017
- ↑ The demands of the Arab countries did not suit Qatar // Interfax, June 24, 2017.
- ↑ It became known that the Arab countries demand from Qatar // TASS, June 23, 2017.
- ↑ Qatar announced its readiness to consider the requirements of the Arab countries // Russian newspaper , 06/28/2017.
- ↑ Media: a representative of Kuwait transmitted the Qatar’s response to an ultimatum to the Saudi Foreign Minister // TASS
- ↑ Arab countries promised to continue the boycott of Qatar // Rossiyskaya Gazeta, July 5, 2017.
- ↑ Arab countries demanded to deprive Qatar of the World Cup-2022 // Lenta.ru , July 15, 2017.
- ↑ , Saudi Arabia suspends any dialogue with Qatar: SPA flights , Reuters (September 9, 2017). Date of appeal September 9, 2017.
- ↑ The Latest: Food Trucks Lining Up At Saudi Border With Qatar , Bloomberg (June 5, 2017).
- ↑ Arab powers sever Qatar ties, citing support for militants , Reuters (June 6, 2017).
- ↑ The currency of Qatar fell sharply in the futures markets after the deterioration of the political situation in the state // REN TV , June 6, 2017.