CGTN America
Seated from left clockwise at table, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa meet in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, July 5, 2017. The foreign ministers from four Arab nations that have sought to isolate Qatar over its alleged support for extremist groups started talks Wednesday, hours after the quartet said they had received Qatar’s response to their demands for ending the crisis. (Khaled Elfiqi, Pool, via AP)
The crisis between Qatar and some of its Gulf state neighbors continues. What is causing the standoff and are diplomatic efforts to resolve it making any progress?
Qatar, a small oil and gas rich nation in the Persian Gulf, is trapped in a major rift with some of its powerful neighbors. Early last month, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar. Egypt has also cut diplomatic ties. They are accusing Qatar of supporting extremist groups and of funding terrorism. Qatar denies the allegations and is refusing to submit to a list of demands drawn up by the Saudi-led quartet. Meanwhile diplomatic efforts, including a visit to the region by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have failed to deliver a breakthrough.
CGTN’s Adel El Mahrouky has just returned from covering the story in Doha and he joins us from Cairo.
Tonight’s panel takes a look at the Qatar-Gulf states crisis:
- Mahjoob Zweiri, Associate Professor in Contemporary History of the Middle East at Qatar University
- Ahmed Al-Ibrahim, a political analyst and also works on Saudi-U.S. relations
- Mohsen Milani, Executive Director of the Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies and Professor of Politics at the University of South Florida
- Joyce Karam, Washington correspondent for Al-Hayat newspaper.
