Gulf leaders in Bahrain have said talks with Qatar are possible but Doha must take demands seriously. On the sidelines, the Saudis accused Qatar of making a 'declaration of war' over holy sites.
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Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates said on Sunday they were willing to hold discussions with Qatar to mend ties but only if it showed willingness to change course and comply with their demands.
Foreign ministers of the four Arab states met for the second time since cutting ties with Qatar over accusations it supports extremists and interferes in the affairs of other Arab states.
The four ministers held a joint press conference in Bahrain's capital, Manama, to say the bloc would continue its measures against Qatar, but would not introduce new sanctions.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa read a joint statement insisting that Qatar comply with a previous list of 13 demands.
"The four countries are ready for dialogue with Qatar on condition it announces its sincere desire to stop supporting and funding terrorism ... and implements the 13 demands that ensure peace and stability in the region and world," the Bahraini minister said.
The Saudi-led bloc issued its list of 13 demands in June, asking Doha to end its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shut down the Al Jazeera television channel, close a Turkish military base and limit its ties with Iran.
Qatar - Gulf Cooperation Council disputes over the years
The current diplomatic crisis engulfing Qatar is not the first time that wealthy Gulf neighbors have been through rough patches. DW takes a look at the history of Middle Eastern regional discord.
Severed ties, broken trust
Sunni-led Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shiite rival, Iran. Doha denies the claim. SA and its allies also imposed sanctions against Doha and presented Qatar with a list of demands. Kuwait has been trying to mediate, and several Western diplomats have toured the region to defuse the row.
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Instability haunts Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Back on March 5, 2014, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain suspended ties with Qatar over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that has been labelled a terrorist organization. Qatar was accused of breaching the 2013 GCC security agreement. Later in November that year, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain agreed to return their ambassadors to Doha after eight months of tension and frozen relations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Elfiqi
Arab Spring and the GCC
The Arab Spring in 2011 did not lead to uprisings in GCC member states, apart from Bahrain, which crushed Shiite protests with Saudi military support. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have long been concerned Iran could cause unrest among their Shiite populations.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Al-Shaikh
Pipeline disputes
Relations between Saudi Arab and Qatar hit a low spot in 2006 after Riyadh withdrew its approval for Qatar’s plans to build a gas pipeline to Kuwait. In the same year, Saudi Arabia also protested against a planned pipeline for taking Qatari gas to the UAE and Oman. In 2005 there had also been Saudi protests against a plan to build a bridge linking Qatar to the UAE.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Brakemeier
Border clash
In 1992, three people were killed in a border clash between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Qatar claimed that Saudi Arabia had attacked the border post at Khafus. Saudi Arabia responded that the clash had taken place on Saudi territory.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
Border dispute
In 1965 an agreement was reached on where the border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia would lie. But the issue was not completely settled until decades later. After three years of wrangling, the two countries signed a border demarcation agreement in 1996. It took more than a decade after this for it to be fully implemented.
Territorial disputes
In 1991, Doha took a border dispute with Bahrain over the Hawar Islands to the United Nations International Court of Justice. Armed confrontation between the two countries had been narrowly avoided in 1986 due to timely Saudi intervention. Later, the ICJ ruled in favor of Bahrain. Qatar was awarded the Janan Islands.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/ C. Ozdel
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Saudi threats over Qatar reports on holy sites
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Sunday that Qatar was not taking its demands seriously.
"We are ready to talk with Qatar on the implementation of the demands, on the implementation of the principles, if Qatar is serious, but it has been clear that it is not," he said.
That same day he said Qatar had committed an act of war by allegedly demanding the internationalization of the Muslim hajj pilgrimage.
"Qatar's demands to internationalize the holy sites is aggressive and a declaration of war against the kingdom," Adel al-Jubeir was quoted saying on Al Arabiya's website.
"We reserve the right to respond to anyone who is working on the internationalization of the holy sites," he said.
Qatar denial
But Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said his country had made no such call.
"We are tired of responding to false information and stories invented from nothing," Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera TV.
He dismissed Sunday's joint statement and said the sanctions were violating international laws.
"There isn't a clear vision (from Manama's meeting), there is only a stubborn policy from the blockading countries and a refusal to admit that these are illegal actions," he told Al Jazeera.
aw/jm (AFP, AP, dpa)
Summarizing the crisis: Qatar expert Nicolas Bremer
