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UAE’s Gargash Says Qatar’s Isolation Could Last ‘Years’ | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash attends a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser


A senior United Arab Emirates (UAE) official said on Monday Qatar’s diplomatic isolation could “last years” if it did not alter its foreign policy and said a list of their grievances would be completed in the next days.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt two weeks ago cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, closed land and sea borders and imposed severe restrictions on airspace over Qatar’s funding of funding and instability-fomenting activities in the Middle East.

“We do not want to escalate, we want to isolate,” state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told journalists during a visit to Paris.

The minister said Qatar’s rivals were “betting on time”, but said a solution could not be brokered until it abandoned its support for “extremist Islamists”.

“They have built a sophisticated podium for jihadism and Islamic extremism, we have a golden opportunity to break this support,” the minister said.

He called for countries like the United States, France, Germany and Britain to help monitor any agreement reached with Qatar to ensure they are not cooperating with jihadists.

“They have the diplomatic clout and technical know-how,” the minister added.