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Gargash Says Gulf States Going Through Crisis, Calls for Standing with Saudi Arabia | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Mohammed Gargash attends a GCC meeting in Riyadh, March 12, 2015. Reuters


Dubai – UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Anwar Gargash warned that the alliance of Gulf Arab states was facing a major crisis and said there was an urgent need to rebuild trust.

“The Gulf Cooperation Council countries are passing through a new sharp crisis that carries massive danger within it,” Gargash said.

“Fending off sedition lies in changing behavior, building trust and regaining credibility,” he added on his Twitter account.

Gargash said that the road to resolving any crisis “between someone and his brothers is by having true intentions, abiding by commitments, changing the behavior that had caused damage and turning to a new page” to ensure solving the crisis between Qatar and the other five GCC members on the issue of Iran.

The Minister added that “stability lies in unity” and, at a time of so many regional crises and threats, “patience and tolerance have their limits.”

“In a turbulent region, there is no alternative to Gulf unity, and Saudi Arabia is the cornerstone,” he tweeted.

“We stand with our brother, friend and neighbor, Saudi Arabia, because our destiny is connected,” he added.

Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE have expressed displeasure with Doha after its state media published purported remarks by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani criticizing the US-Muslim world stand against Iran at the recent Riyadh summit.

The Emir was quoted as saying: “Iran represents a regional and Islamic power that cannot be ignored and it is unwise to face up against it,” the ticker read at one point. “It is a big power in the stabilization of the region.”

Shaikh Tamim said Qatar’s relations with the US were good despite the problematic new administration.

“However, we believe the situation will change because of the judicial investigations into the president’s abuses.”

Qatar has succeeded in building strong relations with the US and Iran at the same time “because it is unwise to escalate the situation with Iran”, Shaikh Tamim said.