DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Qataris woke up with a surprise blockade and boycott from neighbors in the Arab Gulf three and a half years ago and this week they were shaken again by the sudden announcement that it was all over.
The interim period was bitter, with mud attacks on both sides and viscous media blitz, trolling on social media, expensive Washington lobbying efforts and allegations of hacks and leaks. Criticism of the boycott was a crime in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, while the four sought to punish Qatar.
Qatar’s determination in the face of the attack showed how little the campaign has achieved, as the small but influential US ally remains firm in its ties with Turkey, Iran and Islamists.
“In terms of foreign policy, the international relations of the blockade, Qatar did not have to change much because the blockade was on very unstable ground to begin with,” said Jocelyn Sage Mitchell, an assistant professor residing on the Northwestern University campus in Qatar.
She said the quartet’s efforts to isolate Qatar internationally had failed. This, together with a new Biden government in Washington, which is expected to take a firmer stance towards Saudi Arabia and reunite with Iran, has put Qatar in a strong negotiating position.
“I don’t expect to see any significant concession or change from Qatar,” said Mitchell. “Doha is really used, recognized and welcomed for its ability to be the ally in the middle.”
On Monday night, Saudi Arabia ended its embargo, opening its airspace and, in the coming days, its land crossing to its tiny neighbor to the Gulf. On Tuesday, Arab Gulf leaders and a representative from Egypt met in Saudi Arabia and signed a declaration to start a new page in fraternal relations, effectively ending Qatar’s isolation among the quartet.
The turnaround was so strong that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia embraced the ruling Emir of Qatar on his arrival at the summit and later took him to see historic desert sites in the area. In a nod to his fraternal ties, the Emir of Qatar landed on a jet bearing the name of an ancient city located in the Najd region, without a coastline in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of his Bani Tamim tribe.
The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, was 37 years old when the crisis erupted in mid-2017, marking his government’s biggest political challenge.
In the early days of the boycott, concerned residents rushed to supermarkets in the capital, Doha, emptying the shelves of milk and other imported foods. The Qatari government immediately pulled out of its substantial cash reserves, used alternative transport and flight routes, transported thousands of cattle to ensure a stable supply of fresh dairy products and in-depth alliances with Turkey and Iran.
Qatar also used its strategic location in the Persian Gulf as the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas to continue shipments to the world’s major powers. The construction material was redirected, allowing Qatar to continue building new roads, hotels and mega-states while preparing to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022.
Sheik Tamim’s determination and treatment of the crisis catapulted his popularity at home. His image was emblazoned on tall buildings and car windows with promises of loyalty and slogans praising him as “glorious”. The National Museum of Qatar dedicated a gallery to the country’s loner under his leadership in the midst of the crisis.
The young ruler, now 40, was seen as a “steady, steady, wise and mature hand behind the wheel,” said Mitchell, who has lived in Qatar for 13 years and witnessed a country of 2.7 million people coming together in around your leader.
Economically, the super-rich nation has been hit by the blockade. Qatar Airways says it lost billions of dollars by being blocked from airspace and quartet markets.
Despite the pressure, Qatar’s ability to assert its sovereign independence was strengthened by the crisis.
Now that the embargo is over, Qatar may soften some of its policies, but it is unlikely to break ties with Turkey, said Ayham Kamel, head of the Eurasia Group’s Middle East and North Africa division.
“As a result, all Gulf countries will not align their foreign policies,” he said. “These issues can become problematic again, as Qatar’s support for Muslim Brotherhood organizations across the region can become significant.”
Days after the crisis broke out, the quartet released a list of 13 demands to Qatar, ordering it to close its Al Jazeera news network, expel a small contingent of Turkish troops from its territory, sever ties with the Muslim Brotherhood and hand over living political dissidents. in exile there.
Qatar rejected the demands. Although Qatar domestically represses dissent, it has framed its support for Islamic opposition groups in other Arab countries as a sign of its tolerance and pluralist approach.
When asked about the list by CNN’s Becky Anderson on Tuesday, a leading Emirati diplomat downplayed its importance.
“The 13 demands at the time were what I would consider a maximal negotiating position,” said Anwar Gargash.
Based on the UAE’s new public position, he said the focus is now on the beginning of the healing process. Still, he said that we must be realistic about the way ahead.
“The issue of rebuilding trust is something that takes time, consumes a little bit of energy and requires a lot of transparency,” he said, adding: “We have to work to make this business very waterproof in many ways.”
As of Wednesday, Qatar news sites, including the English and Arabic pages of Doha’s Al Jazeera, were still blocked in the United Arab Emirates. There was, however, a palpable change in the tone of news vehicles linked to the state, signaling a new understanding. Newspapers from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia featured front-page photos of the Gulf summit on Tuesday and positive headlines about the end of the rift.
Although there is relief from the reduction of tensions, there is also deep skepticism among the citizens of the Arab Gulf. Families that married catharists were divided, Qataris living in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were expelled and social ties were eroded by the crisis.
“When you are connected to these countries through family and friendship, it is painful to see it fall apart,” said Ahmed Al-Omran, a Saudi analyst and author of the Riyadh Bureau newsletter.
“I think people will be happy to see and hear less unpleasant exchanges in the media, and personal attacks and all the ugliness that marked this dispute.”
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