Qatar .. decades of false promises

The demands of Saudi Arabia and its allies in the current Gulf crisis do not differ from its demands in the Gulf ambassadors' withdrawal from Doha in 2014, which is a confirmation that Qatar does not care about its commitments or promises.

The site of agoravox cited in this context a report by the Emirati researcher and writer Salem Al Ketbi, translated by Riyadh Post, in which he stressed that the reasons for the current Gulf crisis are the same that led the Gulf countries to withdraw their ambassadors from Doha in 2014, where the decision to withdraw ambassadors came after the failure of all efforts to persuade Qatar not to intervene, directly or indirectly in the internal affairs of the GCC countries and not to support any threat to the security and stability of the countries of the region through direct political influence or blatant media support.

After nearly three years, the Gulf-Qatari relations returned back to zero after the Gulf countries had confirmed in their statement that Qatar has violated the implementation of the Riyadh agreement signed on November 23, 2013, in the presence of Emir of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Al- Ketbi pointed out that, according to semi-official media leaks, the Riyadh agreement provided for the commitment of Qatar to implement seven items, including the cessation of interference in the internal affairs of GCC countries, stopping the naturalization campaign of Gulf citizens and expelling all wanted figures hostile to the GCC countries, especially Muslim Brotherhood and prevent incitement to chaos in the Qatari media, and not allow religious figures in Qatar to use mosques and the Qatari media to incite against the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

But Qatar continued after that to support the Muslim Brotherhood, especially in Egypt and started a media war against Egyptian leaders since the arrival of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to power. Doha also continued to host members of the group and finance its plans to destabilize Egypt, including the financing of demonstrations, violence, and incitement to spread chaos.

Despite reneging on promises made to its neighbors and denying Riyadh agreement, Qatar refuses to recognize the accusations leveled against it. The Emirati writer also points out that Doha continued to play the role of victim inspired by the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al- Ketbi said that after Qatar's previous pledge to implement all the terms of the Riyadh agreement in November 2014, the summit of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided to return the Gulf ambassadors to Qatar, but Doha then exploited King Abdullah's death and the emergence of some differences in Saudi-Egyptian politics, to disrupt its promises through spreading the poison of subversion between the two brotherly nations, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, without regard to the common strategic interests or even Riyadh agreement.

In a related context, the Emirati writer indicates that the crisis of UAE-Qatari relations is mainly related to the strategic vision of the regional situation and bilateral relations as the UAE feels that the Arab national security faces a serious threat because of the Qatari media and foreign policy supporting terrorist groups and seeking closer rapprochement with Iran, the country that is trying to exploit conflicts in the region to implement its expansionist plans.

Despite the apparent conflict of interest and official objectives, Tehran and Doha worked together. For example, although Qatar has funded a number of al-Qaeda terrorist organizations in Syria such as Al-Nusra Front which is fighting the Iranian-backed Syrian Army, the Iranian-Qatari cooperation is evident in Iraq and Yemen. And although Qatar participated in the military alliance to restore legitimacy in Yemen, it has maintained contacts with the Houthis since 2006.

Al- Ketbi concluded by saying that Qatar's relationship with terrorist organizations is well known as Doha seeks to play an intermediary role with these organizations in times of crises, as well as its financial and media support in order to exploit them to influence the security of Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the rest of the Arab countries.