A stalemate in West Asia

As Qatar quietly continues to ignore the demands made by Saudi Arabia and its allies, it seems like the crisis in Persian Gulf may only escalate.

A number of Arab nations had cut all diplomatic ties with Qatar as well as blocked their borders on charges that the latter sponsored terrorism. Additionally, they also sent across a list of 13-demands for Qatar to comply with in order for this isolation to end. Qatar has both denied the charges and ignored the deadline.

Hence, Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates met to discuss how best to proceed with the matter at hand.

Background

Between June 5 and June 6, a number of countries including Yemen, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, all announced that they were severing diplomatic ties with Qatar. As a result Qatar’s borders, airspace and even sea links were essentially cut off.  All GCC countries ordered their citizens to leave Qatar. For Qatar, this has meant a devastating blow to its economy. It’s stock index has sunk 3.1% since the crisis began and at least six British banks have either completely or partially stopped dealing with Qatari riyals.

In an earlier article, we have detailed the series of events that culminated in Qatar being isolated.

Analysis

The Saudi-led Arab bloc has made it clear that it wouldn’t negotiate terms of its demands and Qatar has cried foul over the proceedings. Among the other demands, the bloc has called upon Qatar to drastically reduce its ties to Iran. It has also asked the country to shut down its state-funded media house, Al-Jazeera. There is also a demand for Qatar to cut its alleged ties to al-Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamic militant groups. Qatar for its part has announced its intention to hire Swiss lawyers to address the economic damage it has incurred. The commission will seek compensation from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain, which it notes has wrought the most damage.

The international community has become increasingly wary of the situation in West Asia as instability in the region could empower militant outfits in the region.

Assessment

Our assessment is that without any room for negotiation, Qatar had no other choice but to reject the demands being made. Perhaps if all parties showed their willingness to strum out a deal that was mutually beneficial, then status-quo could be restored to the region.