Qatar demands 'blockade' lifted before Gulf crisis talks

Agencies
June 20, 2017

Doha, Jun 20: Qatar's foreign minister today called on neighbouring states to lift their "blockade" of his country before Doha takes part in any negotiations on ending the Gulf diplomatic crisis.Qatar

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called measures to isolate Qatar imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others "an act of aggression", adding that lifting them was a "pre-condition" for talks.

"We have to make it very clear for everyone, negotiations must be done in a civilised way and should have a solid basis and not under pressure or under blockade," the foreign minister told reporters in Doha.

"Qatar under blockade -- there is no negotiation. They have to lift the blockade."

On June 5, Saudi Arabia and allied states cut all ties with Qatar, pulling their ambassadors from the emirate and ordering its citizens to repatriate by June 19.

The measures also included closing Qatar's only land border, banning its planes from using their airspace and barring Qatari nationals from transiting through their airports.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and other states accuse Qatar of supporting and funding "terrorism" and of working with regional rival Iran, charges Doha firmly denies.

Sheikh Mohammed's demand came as a UAE minister warned that Qatar's diplomatic isolation could "last years".

"We do not want to escalate, we want to isolate," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told journalists during a visit to Paris. "This isolation can take years."

The minister said that while Qatar's rivals were "betting on time", a solution could not be brokered until it abandoned its support for "extremist Islamists".

Sheikh Mohammed said that Qatar had not received any demands from the Gulf states or from countries seeking a diplomatic solution, including Kuwait, the United States, France and Britain.

"Why they didn't submit their demands yet? For us, there is no clear answer for this," he said.

"But what we have seen until now, there is no solid ground for these demands, that's why they didn't submit their demands yet."

The foreign minister added that the economic impact on Qatar had so far proved minimal but added: "We are not claiming we are living in a perfect condition."

The Gulf political crisis has also affected countries outside the region.

"France, UK or the United States -- they are strong allies of Qatar and we have a great deal of cooperation together in terms of military, defence, security, economically," said Sheikh Mohammed.

"So a blockade on Qatar and measures being taken against Qatar in this way is affecting the interests of those countries as well, directly."

Comments

Truth teller
 - 
Tuesday, 20 Jun 2017

you say "you can't negotiate until blockade is lifted, Really! but other gulf sates say there is no negotiation with Terrorists or their supporters until you stop it.

The reality is you have been given earlier warning years back when they cut only diplomatic ties with you by calling the ambassador back.you did not know why was it for?

secondly, you have broken the covenant you made with other states. and acting as if you know nothing. first stop funding and supporting terrorist groups and stop meddling with other nations internal affair. and stop your double face attitude with iran and gulf. be straight forward be brave! not coward.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Riyadh, Apr 24: As many as eleven Indian nationals have died due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

"As per information available with the Embassy as of April 22, eleven Indian nationals (four in Madinah, three in Makkah, two in Jeddah, one in Riyadh and one in Dammam) have passed away due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said in a press release on Wednesday.

It urged the Indian community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Embassy also reiterates the need for the community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours that may create panic. It is important that social media is not used to disseminate false messages and spread hatred along communal lines that can vitiate the atmosphere," the Embassy said.

"As stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking, and our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," it said.

Moreover, several measures on the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need are being implemented across the Kingdom.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ausaf Sayeed on April 22 had interacted with Indian community volunteers from the smaller towns all across the Kingdom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 situation, and evaluate the implementation of various measures to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Riyadh, Jul 5: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved the extension of the validity of the expired iqama (residency permit) and exit and reentry visas of expatriates who are outside the Kingdom for a period of three months without any fee.

The iqama of expatriates inside the Kingdom as well as the visa of visitors who are in the Kingdom of which the validity expires during the period of suspension of entry and exit from the Kingdom will also be extended for a period of three months without any charge.

The validity of final exit visas as well as exit and reentry visas issued for expatriates, who are in the Kingdom, but were not used during the lockdown period will be extended for a period of three months without any fee, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an official source at the Ministry of Interior.

The ministry source said that these measures were taken as part of the continuous efforts made by the government of King Salman to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on individuals as well as on private sector establishments and investors, economic activities in the Kingdom, following the adoption of the preventive measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The beneficiaries of the King’s order include all expatriates who are outside the Kingdom on exit and reentry visas, which expired during the lockdown period and after lifting of the lockdown.

These expatriates are not in a position to return to the Kingdom due to the enforcement of suspension of international flight service and temporary ban on entry and exit from the Kingdom.

The beneficiaries also include those expatriates who are still in the Kingdom after issuance of final exit visas or exit and reentry visas but could not travel because of the suspension of entry and exit from the Kingdom.

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News Network
May 3,2020

Dubai, May 3: Over 150,000 Indians in the UAE, who wish to return home amid the coronavirus lockdown, have applied through the online registration process to the Indian missions here, according to media reports.

The Indian missions in the country last week opened online registration for the expatriates who wish to fly back home after getting stuck in the country amidst the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As of 6 pm on Saturday, we received more than 150,000 registrations, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told the Gulf News on Saturday.

A quarter of them want to return to their homeland after losing their jobs, he said.

According to a report in the Khaleej Times on Sunday, about 40 per cent of the applicants who have registered are blue-collared workers and 20 per cent are working professionals.

"Roughly 20 per cent have suffered job losses and about 55 per cent of the total applicants are from Kerala," Neeraj Aggarwal, Consul, Press, Information, Culture was quoted as saying in the report.

Aggarwal said that the figures would change as they are expecting registrations from workers from other states, including Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.

About 10 per cent of the applicants are visit and tourist visa holders who got stranded here due to the ongoing lockdown in India.

India extended the ongoing lockdown by two weeks from May 4 to contain the spread of the coronavirus that has affected nearly 40,000 people in the country.

Aggarwal said that a small number of the applications constitute those from pregnant women and other medical cases.

Since the online registration process was launched, the Consulate's website crashed several times due to the heavy rush of applicants wishing to register to fly back home.

The site has been working fine now though it took a lot of time for it to stabilise in the initial phase due to the heavy traffic, the counsel general said.

He said that the missions here have not yet received any information from the Indian government about the mode of transport of the stranded citizens, the prices of the tickets or how the COVID-19 test results of applicants would be assessed for their journey.

There are high-level discussions going on regarding these things, he said in the report.

Meanwhile, Norka (The Non Resident Keralites Affairs) said it has received a total of 398,000 applications from Keralites across the globe who wish to return home.

"Of which, the highest numbers are from the UAE. At least 175,423 applicants have signed up from the UAE," Norka said in an official statement on Saturday.

It also received 54,305 registrations from Saudi Arabia, 2,437 from the UK, 2,255 from the US, and 1,958 from Ukraine from those who wish to return to India, the Khaleej Times reported.

The coronavirus has infected 13,599 people and claimed 119 lives in the UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Saturday.

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