U.A.E. Warns of ‘Long Estrangement’ in Qatar Crisis

EghtesadOnline: A top Emirati diplomat has cautioned that a diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its Persian Gulf neighbors could be prolonged.

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16 July 2017

The United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Relations Anwar al-Gargash said the countries "are heading toward a long estrangement" and that crisis is "far from a political solution." He published his comments on Twitter Friday.

The dispute between Qatar, on one side, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on the other erupted more than a month ago. Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in the Gulf, meeting separately with officials in the region to try and find a resolution to the impasse, Bloomberg reported.

The Arab quartet accuse Qatar of disrupting regional security by supporting Islamist opposition groups and extremists. Qatar denies the allegations.