ABU DHABI and AMMAN // The severing of diplomatic ties and partial blockade against Qatar by the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not aimed at forcing a change in leadership, the UAE said on Wednesday.
“This is not about regime change — this is about change of policy, change of approach,” said Dr Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. “The government of Qatar is in denial,” he added, calling Qatar “the main champion of extremism and terrorism in the region”.
Dr Gargash spoke ahead of the arrival in the UAE of the emir of Kuwait for talks on the crisis.
Sheikh Sabah, has embarked on a round of shuttle diplomacy, beginning with a meeting with King Salman in Jeddah on Tuesday.
On Wednesday evening he met in Dubai with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, the foreign minister.
The leaders reaffirmed the importance of regional and international coordination to “combat extremism and terrorism and to block their financing sources,” state news agency WAM reported.
Later Sheikh Sabah flew to Doha for talks with the Qatari leadership.
As the sanctions against Qatar took hold, the agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Qatar’s credit rating by one notch and the riyal fell to an 11-year low amid signs that investment funds were flowing out of the country.
The tensions that erupted two weeks ago and then dramatically escalated on Monday, are rooted in Doha’s long-standing support for the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist groups. The UAE and Saudi Arabia also accuse Doha of supporting figures who propagate extremist ideology that fuels backing for groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIL.
The same issues flared up in 2014, but Sheikh Tamim — at the time newly-installed as emir of Qatar — pledged to take steps to curtail Doha’s support to Islamist groups and their use of Qatari media as a platform and fall in line with the Saudi-led policy on confronting Iran.
Emirati and Saudi officials say those promises were not kept, and with Donald Trump’s public support, they are using their leverage to try to bring Qatar to heel once and for all.
“We have reached a cul-de-sac in terms of trying to convince Qatar to change course,” Dr Gargash told AFP.
Mr Trump spoke by phone with King Salman on Tuesday. The White House said they “discussed the critical goals of preventing the financing of terrorist organisations and eliminating the promotion of extremism by any nation in the region”.
The US president then spoke with the emir of Qatar on Wednesday and offered to host a meeting at the White House to help resolve the crisis.
Mr Trump told Sheikh Tamim that all countries in the region should work together “to prevent the financing of terrorist organisations and stop the promotion of extremist ideology”.
Kuwait and Oman have been leading intensive mediation efforts. Kuwait was instrumental in brokering the agreement that defused the previous crisis in 2014.
However, Dr Gargash cautioned against a breakthrough even before the Kuwaiti emir’s visit to the UAE. He said the conditions were not right for mediation at the moment. “The conditions have to start with that statement [by Qatar], that will [to change their policies] by Qatar,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Qatar’s closest ally, said he “did not think the sanctions against Qatar are good. Turkey will continue and will develop our ties with Qatar, as with all our friends who have supported us in the most difficult moments.”
On Wednesday Turkish officials said Ankara may accelerate plans to deploy more troops to the permanent base it established in Qatar, as well as increase vital food and water exports to the emirate. Qatar’s only land border is with Saudi Arabia, over which it imports around 40 per cent of its food and much of its building materials and other commodities. Another significant proportion of food is re-exported via the UAE, which has cut off trade.
Qatar hosts the forward headquarters of the US Central Command at Al Udeid airbase, which is crucial to US operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Qatar’s decision to pay for and house the base in 2002 was in part a strategic move to protect it from larger rivals. The US military has said it has no plans to move the base.
Turkey’s deployment, while small, is a significant signal. There are currently 94 Turkish troops at the base in Qatar, according to a Turkish general reported in IHS Jane’s last month. The general said around 600 troops will be stationed there but in 2015 another official said the goal was to have 3,000 troops in Qatar.
GCC ally Jordan was the latest to join Riyadh and Abu Dhabi in taking measures against Doha.
Jordan has asked Qatar’s ambassador in Amman to leave the country within days and, after “examining the reasons behind the crisis”, decided to downgrade — though not sever — its own diplomatic ties with Qatar. Al Jazeera’s broadcast licence is also revoked.
“The decision to scale down the diplomatic representation means the [Qatari] ambassador leaves the country in days,” a Jordanian official said.
However, the Qatari embassy’s chargé d’affaires will still represent Doha’s foreign ministry, he added.
The two countries have tensions in their relationship that precede the GCC crisis. “Ties between Jordan and Qatar are cold,” said Fares Braizat, chairman of NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions in Amman. “Qatar has been trying to compete with Jordan over a regional role carved out for small states, particularly when it comes to files that Jordan has been handling for a long time, such as the peace process and certain regional security matters, especially fighting terrorism.”
Doha, as a result, also never contributed to a $5 billion (Dh18.36bn) GCC fund established in 2011 during the Arab Spring to support development projects in Jordan.
Comoros also announced a downgrade in diplomatic ties with Qatar on Wednesday and Morocco’s national airline, Royal Air Maroc, cancelled flights to the UAE, Saudi, Yemen and Egypt that fly via Doha, adding to travel chaos caused by the crisis.
tkhan@thenational.ae
*Suha Maayeh reported from Amman
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Villains
Queens of the Stone Age
Matador
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
I Feel Pretty
Dir: Abby Kohn/Mark Silverstein
Starring: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, Rory Scovel
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
UAE Falcons
Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.
Midfielders Henderson, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Winks.
Forwards Abraham, Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Ings, Kane, Rashford, Sancho, Sterling.
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
