View and Counterview
It is striking that the (Donald) Trump administration which sparked the Gulf crisis is trying to resolve it at the end of its tenure. It appears that it is an attempt to reunite the Gulf to integrate the rest of its countries into the normalisation process with Israel and mobilise them in the face of Iran.
It looks as if Qatar is not, not even Saudi Arabia is, willing to give Trump the credit of reconciliation. Qatar is not interested in giving this achievement as a gift to the president who had conspired and incited the crisis against it. Saudi Arabia has its eyes on Biden not Trump.
If we look into the developments, we will know how low the Arab region stoops when it comes to their own differences. Also, there is always a blatant American intervention to blow them out of proportion and resolving it in a way which serves its interests again.
It is unlikely that Qatar will change its policies in dealing with the Arab Spring or the nature of its relations with Iran and Turkey. This gives the impression that the dispute will continue and perhaps the reconciliation may not be completed.
It is true that everyone would be happy with the reconciliation in the Gulf. But no one wants it to be at the expense of the Palestinian cause to facilitate the process of normalisation with Israel.
(by Majid Abu Diyak in TRT Arabi)
It is true is that the “Gulf dispute” lasted three years without any bloodshed or a bullet fire between the disagreeing parties. It is a rare case in the region where it is customary for governments to resort to violence to express their political positions. The four countries: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Bahrain, chose from the Diplomacy book the easiest and least harmful method to reflect their dissatisfaction: they cut ties, withdrew ambassadors, and stopped commercial exchanges.
We do not know yet how the reconciliation process will proceed, because there is no dispute over territories or interests. The allegation is about intentions. Most serious of these allegations is conspiring to support the opposition to destabilise the security of countries.
Therefore, the most difficult condition for reconciliation is demonstration of good intentions. Qatar must prove that it has changed in the face of widespread scepticism about it. The fate of the relationship is in the hands of Doha alone, and not Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Cairo, or Manama. We are on the brink of the end of the most difficult Gulf dispute, and whether the reason for reconciliation is the desire of the outgoing President Donald Trump, who wished for countries to end the crisis, or it was Doha’s craving to organise the World Cup or a sober moment welcomed by everyone. What is important is that the reconciliation should be honest, not temporary.
(by Abdurrahman Al Rashid in Asharq Al Awsat)
Complied and translated by Faizul Haque