Gargash: UAE-Saudi ties stronger than ever before

UAE’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs slams Qatari media for seeking to sow rift between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

ABU DHABI - UAE’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Wednesday that the Emirati-Saudi ties are stronger and deeper than ever before, slamming Qatari media for seeking to sow rift between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

 “To create a rift between the UAE and Saudi Arabia through the gateway of Yemen, Iran or others, is impossible. The thoughtless Qatari media does not realise that our alliance has been reinforced through sacrifices, coordination, dialogue and honesty,” said Gargash on Twitter.

“The Emirati-Saudi ties are now stronger and deeper as Saudis vehemently defend their partnership with the UAE. I really feel sorry about those who manage Qatar’s policy and deepen its crisis,” he said.

“I do not worry about the strategic relations that bind between us and Saudi Arabia and I see how they get stronger at all levels every day. What makes me feel sad that Qatar is consolidating its isolation and deepening its crisis across reckless media policies run by money and mercenaries, while Qataris distant themselves from such policies,” he added.

Qatar is the subject of a two-year Saudi-led economic embargo including bans on direct air, land and sea travel between the boycotting nations and Qatar, as well as sanctions after accusing Doha of sponsoring terrorism.

Although Qatar has repeatedly denied backing or funding terror groups, western diplomats have accused it of allowing the funding of some Sunni extremists, including al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria.

Few days ago, the New York Times unveiled a report that allegedly implicated Doha last May in a bombing in Bosaso whose port is managed by an Emirati company.

In a cellphone call with the Qatari ambassador to Somalia, a businessman close to the Emir of Qatar said that the militants had carried out the bombing in Bosaso to advance Qatar’s interests by driving out its rival, the UAE, according to the New York Times.