Qatar continues to play victim, doesn’t intend to resolve crisis, symposium told

Qatar does not seem to have the intention to resolve the crisis with the Quartet in the foreseeable future and has instead pretended to play the role of the victim, analysts addressing a symposium held in Abu Dhabi said.

The symposium – ‘Crisis in Qatar: A Year of Obstinacy’ – was told that the Qatari discourse is based on ideology of Brotherhood, Ba’athists and Iranians. The symposium was organized by Emirates Policy Centre.

Addressing the symposium, Dr. Ebtesam al-Ketbi, President of the Emirates Policy Center, said that some Western circles play a role in the Qatari crisis for their own benefit as this would deplete GCC resources.

“The Qatari crisis is no longer on top of the agenda of world capitals. However, the Quartet has not made enough effort to face the misinformation campaign of the Qatari media platforms,” a tweet sent out by the Center quoted al-Ketbi as saying.

Washington’s influence

“Washington still has enough influence in the Gulf Council to pressure any party to the crisis to make concessions. It seems that none of the parties to the crisis are enough pressured to seek a quick end to the crisis,” she said.

Dr. al-Ketbi also said that after President Trump’s withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal, Washington might be forced to renew its mediatory efforts to end the crisis in the coming months while giving both sides enough room to change their positions.

Leading analyst and columnist Abdulrahaman al-Rashid said that Washington will not allow Qatar to develop deep relations with Iran. “The internal situation in Qatar may aggravate in the long run in case the crisis is not resolved,” al-Rashed said adding that in case the Qatari crisis is resolved, the GCC will be in a better position in the future.

Another participant, Nabil al-Hamar, said that the Qatari leadership should come to its senses. “Otherwise, the crisis will continue and will be further complicated by the Qatari media platforms and hate speech,” he said.