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Qatar: Saudi led quartet’s pressure tactics failed

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Alleges Riyadh and Abu Dhabi for supporting terrorism

A senior Qatari official has claimed that the “Saudi Arabia led quartet of boycotters” have failed to bring his country to its knees and reminded that “smear campaign” against his country is only reminiscent of Saudi Arabia’s own ideological support for terror groups.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, had jointly announced severing of diplomatic, business and travel ties with Qatar and also appealed to other “brethren countries” to follow. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is virtually broken after the severe diplomatic move. Kuwait and Oman did not chose to cut ties with Doha. US have been supporting Kuwait’s mediation efforts.

The GCC, consisting of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait, was established in 1981 for supporting Saddam Hussein of Iraq in war against Iran.

In the latest move, Mutlaq Majed al-Qahtani, the special envoy of Qatari Foreign Minister has written an opinion piece “Qatar Will Not Be Intimidated.”  Published by New York based Wall Street Journal on Monday, the opinion piece derided “Saudi and Emirati hypocrisy”.  

The senior Qatari diplomat said, “If Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – the countries driving the confrontation, despite the appearance of a unified bloc – hoped to bring Qatar to its knees, they have failed. If they hoped to damage Qatar’s reputation and improve their own, they have failed. If they hoped to enhance their relationship with the US at Qatar’s expense, again, they have failed.” 

The 473 word Al-Qahtani’ opinion piece was sharply worded mainly hitting Saudi Arabia and UAE. He said that “Instead, the anti-Qatar smear campaign has put a spotlight on the shameful history and unsavory practices of the Saudis and Emiratis themselves.”

Al-Qahtani reminded that Saudi Arabia justifies the blockade by alleging that Qatari authorities “support extremists and terrorist organizations”. But the accusation only reminds observers that the Saudis have consistently failed to prevent the radicalization of their citizens.

While elaborating Saudi’s role in spreading terrorism and its sinful support to the worldwide menace, the Qatari diplomat said “Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the 9/11 attacks were Saudis. Thousands of Saudi citizens have taken up arms to join Islamic State (IS) and other radical groups.

He also alleged that “Saudi textbooks are used in ISIS schools. Many of the five dozen groups that the US State Department designates as terror organizations are funded by Saudi nationals.”

The Qatari diplomat, who is responsible for country’s counter terrorism and mediation efforts, further alleged that “Emirates have taken a similarly hypocritical stance. While the UAE falsely portrays itself as America’s best ally in the region, its track record is no better than Saudi Arabia’s. Two Emiratis participated in the September 11 hijackings, and the staff report to the 9/11 Commission revealed that much of the funding for the attacks flowed through the UAE, which was a world hub for money laundering.”

The Qatari diplomat detailed about the worst freedom of speech situation in UAE. He said, “The UAE has fared no better with regard to freedom of speech and press. In 2014, authorities arrested a man for plotting a terrorist attack on a Formula One race track in Abu Dhabi. But the Emirates prohibited international media outlets from reporting on the trial. The UAE’s recent clampdown on free speech has been widely condemned, especially after the country’s Justice Ministry said in June that supporting Qatar on social media could be punishable by fines and even prison time.”

Al-Qahtani concluded by saying that “leaked emails show that Emirati officials were conspiring with a variety of interest groups and lobbyists to slander Qatar long before the blockade was imposed. Now, intelligence experts and Qatar’s cyber security services have identified the UAE as the perpetrator of the hacking of Qatar News Agency, which set the entire Gulf crisis in motion.

In late May, hackers had allegedly broke into Qatar News Agency (QNA) and published a fake story quoting Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani calling Iran an “Islamic power” and saying Qatar’s relations with Israel were “good”. However, Qatar had announced that the news website was hacked.

On Tuesday, responding to Qatari diplomat’s opinion piece, Anwar Gargash, the UAE Foreign Minister called Qatar an “arrogant” state.  In his twitter post he wrote, “It is the country’s arrogant position to accuse the United Arab Emirates’ of leading the campaign against it and of opening fronts, including with Saudi Arabia, and at the same time to think that undermining the security of Bahrain and Egypt is a natural right. This is the logic of illogical.”

Meanwhile Sheikh Mohammed Abdurrahman Al-Thani, the Qatari Foreign Minister said on Tuesday that it will take a “lot of time” to rebuild any trust between the GCC members because of the region’s continuing diplomatic crisis.  “Qatar has always been one of the founders of the GCC organization and we still consider that this has a great importance for all of us in the region,” he said.

The Saudi led quartet severed ties with Qatar alleging Doha for supporting terrorist groups: Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Hamas of Palestine. Later these countries put forwarded thirteen-point demands to Qatar, saying that Doha should sever its ties with Tehran, close new Turkish army base in its territory and shut down Aljazeera network.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin.

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Kremlin denies US media reports on Donald Trump’s phone call with Vladimir Putin

The Kremlin today denied a US media report that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US president-elect Donald Trump had spoken on the phone last week about the Ukraine conflict.

Earlier on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Donald Trump spoke to Vladimir Pution on call, urging him not to inflame the conflict. Speaking on the matter, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media that the report was completely false information, and denied any phone call took place.

It was reported that US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine. It said that Donald Trump held the call from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Thursday, just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris. The report also mentioned that both the leaders expressed an interest in further conversations to discuss the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon.

Notably, Donald Trump said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Russian President Putin. However, the US President elect has not said how he intends to strike a peace deal or what terms he is proposing.

Donald Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Trump on Wednesday, with the Republican’s billionaire backer Elon Musk also notably joining them on the call. Volodymyr Zelensky described the call as excellent, adding that he and Trump had agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation.

Additionally, the outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.

Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the White House aims to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar’s press conference

The MEA said that these actions yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech.

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India calls out Canada’s move to ban Australia Today for airing S Jaishankar's press conference

A few hours after Australia Today aired External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s press conference in Australia, Canada banned the outlet. The External Affairs Minister gave remarks on the India-Canada diplomatic standoff. 

Reacting to this, India on Thursday said it was surprised by Canada’s move to ban the outlet and emphasized that it highlighted Ottawa’s hypocrisy towards freedom of speech. Australia Today, which is an important outlet for the Indian community in the country, had aired the joint press conference of S Jaishankar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong in Canberra.

In a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they understand that the social media handles, pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are not available for viewers in Canada. He continued that this happened just an hour or a few hours after this particular handle carried the press conference of S Jaishankar with Penny Wong. He called out the incident, mentioning that they are surprised, and the matter looks strange to them.

He further underlined that these are the actions which yet again highlight the hypocrisy of Canada towards freedom of speech. He noted that the External Affairs Minister spoke about three things: Canada making allegations and a pattern had developed without any specific evidence, surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, which he termed as unacceptable, and  the political space which has been given in Canada to anti-India elements. 

With this one can draw conclusions, why Australia Today channel was blocked by Canada, the spokesperson said. Australia Today focuses on news and analytical pieces related to the Indian community in Australia and elsewhere across the world.

This incident follows days after devotees were attacked by pro-Khalistani at a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton, with S Jaishankar calling it deeply concerning. Furthermore, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack and said that there were cowardly attempts to intimidate Indian diplomats.

The diplomatic standoff between India and Canada began in September last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Indian government agents might have been involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a claim outrightly rejected by New Delhi.

Later in October 2024, ties between both the countries nosedived when Canada termed the Indian High Commissioner a person of interest in its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Issuing a strongly worded statement, India dismissed the fresh charge and recalled the envoy and some diplomats, while expelling six Canadian officials, including Canada’s acting High Commissioner.

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PM Modi congratulates Donald Trump on winning US President election

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the 2024 US Presidential election and said he is looking forward to renewing their collaboration to further strengthen the India-US partnership.

The Prime Minister urged Trump to work for the betterment of the people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity.

“Heartiest congratulations my friend @realDonaldTrump on your historic election victory. As you build on the successes of your previous term, I look forward to renewing our collaboration to further strengthen the India-US Comprehensive Global and Strategic Partnership. Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote global peace, stability and prosperity,” PM Modi posted on his X handle.

With the results being announced for the 2024 US election on November 6, Trump became the 47th President of the United States.

Former US President Trump appeared to be on track for a remarkable political comeback in the White House race. Projections suggested that he was poised to secure the necessary 270 electoral college votes, effectively blocking Democratic candidate Kamala Harris from winning the election.

The relationship between Trump and Modi has been characterised by robust diplomatic ties, strategic collaboration, and a noticeable personal rapport. Their friendship was prominently displayed during major events such as “Howdy, Modi” in Houston in 2019 and “Namaste Trump” in Ahmedabad in 2020, where they addressed large audiences and expressed their mutual respect.

On a strategic level, Trump and Modi found common ground in matters of defense and security, both adopting a strong stance against terrorism, which reinforced their alliance, particularly concerning threats from Pakistan.

As he approaches a notable victory in the US election, Republican Presidential candidate Trump expressed gratitude to his supporters today, calling it a magnificent victory for the American people. He also referenced the assassination attempt on July 13, stating, “God spared my life for a reason.”

The 78-year-old candidate is currently projected to secure 267 electoral college votes, just three shy of the decisive 270, while his opponent, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, holds 224 electoral votes.

Trump described the Republican campaign as the greatest political movement of all time, asserting, “We are going to help our country heal, secure our borders, and we made history for a reason tonight. This is an incredible political victory. I want to thank the American people. I will fight for you and your family with every breath I have.”

He noted that Democrats are now looking at a projected total of 315 electoral votes.

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