Gulf Crisis: Saudi says ball in Qatar’s court

   

   Saudi Arabia said Saturday that Qatar can end the Gulf crisis if it abides by its previous pledges, local media reported.

   Former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al Faisal asserted Saturday that Qatar must stop its support for terrorism to settle the current crisis with its neighboring countries.
 
   In statements reported by Sky News, al Faisal said Doha should meet the anti-terror countries’ demands including non-interference in other states’ internal affairs. “Qatar can end the crisis if it abides by its previous pledges,” he said, without elaboration. “The ball is in Qatar’s court and they have to address this,” he added.

    Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic, trade and transportation ties with Qatar on 5 June and later put forward 13 demands as conditions to end the boycott. United States and Kuwait have been mediating the crisis since, though no breakthrough has been reported.

   Oman, which did not join the boycott, is a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that also includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar. As part of the boycott, the four countries banned Qatari Airways from their airspace. Thereafter, the four countries listed 13 demands for Qatar to fulfil, one of which is that Qatar should close its Al-Jazeera TV network, among others.

NAN