UK urged to do more to help solve Gulf rift

Britain’s foreign minister arrived in the Middle East on Friday, amid claims the UK had been neglecting its diplomatic duty over the Gulf crisis.
Boris Johnson is set to meet representatives from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait in a bid to heal the rift over Doha’s alleged support of terrorism and Iran.
The news followed claims made at a conference in Westminster, close to the UK Parliament, which heard that Britain must boost its diplomatic efforts over the crisis, following the more visible efforts of Germany.
Lt. Gen. Sir Simon Mayall, a former senior Middle East adviser to the UK Ministry of Defense, said earlier on Friday that the UK needs to step up to the challenge of finding a solution to the diplomatic spat with Qatar, especially given its historic ties with the region.
Mayall, who has high-level contacts in the Gulf region, said he was “disappointed” not to see the UK play a significant role in the crisis earlier, particularly in comparison to Germany, which dispatched Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel to help in the negotiations.
“My worry is that it’s a bit-part player … Somewhere along the line, I would have liked to see the British government demonstrating that it was really keen to be a leading player in trying to resolve this,” Mayall told Arab News.
The defense expert pointed to the strong historic ties between Britain and the Gulf. But he said that the volatility in British politics — given the Brexit negotiations and MPs’ responsibilities at home — had made greater involvement in the region difficult.
Embattled Prime Minister Theresa May has problems of her own, having faced a humiliating defeat in the June election, losing her parliamentary majority, and forcing her into an expensive alliance with a political party from Northern Ireland.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, former UK foreign secretary and defense secretary, also said that Britain had an important role to play in the Gulf rift.
“The UK should be involved, obviously, at a diplomatic level, because of our very close historic links which are ongoing, with many of the countries of the region,” he told Arab News.
“There are so many crises in the Middle East at this moment in time that the region needs the help of its friends ... who can actually help get negotiated solutions for some of these problems.”
The experts took part in a panel discussion on the implications of the Gulf crisis on UK foreign policy, hosted on Friday by the Royal United Services Institution (RUSI) think-tank in London.
Mayall told the audience that “Britain should be stepping up to take some responsibility” over the Gulf rift given its “deep deep historic connections” with the region.
Spokespeople from the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Arab News.
But an FCO statement quoted by Reuters, released after the London conference, said that Johnson would be making efforts to help mediate in the region.
“The foreign secretary will urge all parties to get behind Kuwait’s mediation efforts, which the UK strongly supports, and work toward de-escalation and Gulf unity for the sake of regional stability,” the statement said.
“He will also discuss a range of security and bilateral issues with a particular focus on working together to address the common threats of extremism, radicalization and terrorism.”
Rifkind — who held a series of ministerial posts in the 1980s and 1990s — said he believed the Gulf crisis was “utterly unnecessary.”
Qatar is “foolishly” trying to be “all things to all people,” he added.
“Qatar has been playing fast and loose, willing to have very close relationships with Hamas, Hezbollah, with the Muslim Brotherhood … either directly or indirectly, providing funds and help for various … organizations.”
Rifkind said however that the allegations against Qatar by Saudi Arabia were a case of “pot calling the kettle black,” although he said he believes that the Saudi government is not funding any extremist groups in the region.
The former minister also defended Al Jazeera, which he said was a “breath of fresh air” compared to many other media organizations in the region.
“It would be a great loss to the wider world if Al Jazeera was closed down,” he said.
That point was strongly disputed by fellow panel member Hasan Al-Hasan, former senior analyst at the office of the first deputy prime minister of Bahrain.
The news station has regularly been accused of providing a platform for terror groups; Al-Hasan pointed to Al Jazeera’s broadcast of an interview with Abu Mohammed Al-Joulani, the leader of Jabhat Al-Nusra, the Syrian wing of Al-Qaeda.
“I wouldn’t necessarily describe that as a breath of fresh air,” he said.
Al-Hasan said there is evidence of Qatar “sponsoring and financing terror,” citing a $1 billion hostage deal struck by Doha, as well as “Qatar’s failure to hold to account high-level officials,” including people implicated in Al-Qaeda financing.
Al-Hasan said he expects the Gulf Anti-Terror Quartet (ATQ) to introduce further measures against Qatar, which will likely involve a set of “targeted financial sanctions,” probably including asset freezes on Qatari investments.

Source: Arab News