Egypt tells EU it rejects ‘half-solutions’ for crisis with Qatar

8 years ago

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri (C) Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi and Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, Saeb Erekat hold a joint press conference after their trilateral meeting in Amman, Jordan on 14 May, 2017 [Salah Malkawi/ Anadolu Agency]

The Egyptian government told the EU on Tuesday that the Arab states which have imposed a blockade on Qatar would not accept “half-solutions” for the ongoing diplomatic crisis, the Huffington Post has reported. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri insisted that Qatar has to accept all of the demands made by his government, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.

Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the European Union, speaks at the 53rd Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, on 18 Februrary,, 2017 [Andreas Gebert/Anadolu Agency]

Shukri made his comments after meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Chief, Federica Mogherini, in Brussels. “The issue is not subject to half-solutions,” he told a press conference. “No half-solutions with any form of terror.” When Qatar takes the necessary measures and the right pathway, he added, it will be accepted as a partner in the war on terror. “Then, the crisis will be solved.”

The minister stressed the charge made by the blockading countries that Qatar harbours people linked to “terrorist and extremist ideologies.”

Read: Egypt’s Sisi vows to keep up Qatar blockade

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants, a charge that Doha denies completely. The blockade countries also want Qatar to reduce its ties with Iran, shut down a Turkish military base and close Al-Jazeera news network.

Mogherini called for solving the crisis with Qatar through dialogue. She noted that not only Qatar needs to see an end to the crisis, but also all of the other countries involved.

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Meanwhile, ignoring EU-registered rights groups which have highlighted Egypt’s unacceptable abuse of human rights, Mogherini said that the EU stands with Egypt in its war on terror. This “war on terror”, commentators have pointed out, is clearly a crackdown on opposition to the military coup which ousted a freely-elected ruler in 2013 and brought Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to power.