Saudi Arabia suspends Qatar talks

Manama : Saudi Arabia has suspended a dialogue with Qatar accusing it of distorting facts, shortly after a phone call between Amir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman early yesterday.

The two sides discussed holding talks to resolve the Qatar crisis, which has seen Doha cut off from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE.

However, Saudi Arabia later said Qatar was distorting facts about the call, and said it was ending talks. After the call, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the Crown Prince Mohammed would talk to Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates and then release details. 

The phone call, which came after US President Donald Trump spoke separately with both sides, had initially been seen as a possible breakthrough in the crisis.

The call was the first formal contact between Riyadh and Doha since the crisis began.

State media on both sides reported that Qatar’s Amir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the need for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

 SPA said Qatar’s leader had “expressed his desire to sit at the dialogue table and discuss the demands of the four countries”, and that further details would be announced after Saudi Arabia reached an agreement with Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE.

Meanwhile, the Qatar News Agency said the Saudi crown prince had proposed assigning “two envoys to resolve controversial issues in a way that does not affect the sovereignty of states”. Shortly afterwards, Saudi Arabia said Qatar of not being “serious” about dialogue, and said communications between the two sides would be suspended.

“This proves that the authority in Qatar is not serious in dialogue and continues its previous policies,’’ the SPA said. 

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declares that any dialogue or communication with the authority in Qatar shall be suspended until a clear statement explaining its position is made in public,’’ the SPA said.

The row appears to be over protocol - observers say Saudi Arabia is angered that Qatari state media did not make clear that the call was initiated by Doha. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE have presented a list of 13 conditions for the lifting of sanctions. The four countries yesterday maintained a tough stance rejecting any preconditions by Qatar for a dialogue on the implementation of the 13 demands put forward by the quartet even after US President Trump  offered to mediate.