Qatar has seen the list. Why leak it?

By leaking the demands of the GCC, Doha has shown it is not interested in serious talk

Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, wondered why Qatar leaked the list at this critical time. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo

After asking for the demands of the GCC countries boycotting Doha, when Qatar finally received them, their first action was to leak them. The countries of the boycott sent a list of 13 demands to Doha, via Kuwait. The demands were detailed and long-standing, reflecting the feeling within the GCC that Qatar has spent many years working at cross-purposes to them.

If there was any doubt about how seriously Qatar has been undermining the GCC, look at the list: the GCC wants Doha to “hand over all designated terrorists wanted by the four countries” and tell its neighbours what it knows about them and their funding. The four also want Doha to stop seeking ties with the opposition groups inside Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf countries – something which, in any case, Doha must realise would be immensely provocative to these countries.

That is in addition to Qatar’s backing of extremist elements in the region and its unfathomable cooperation with Iran, at a time when Iran is destablising GCC countries and neighbouring Arab states.

Why would Qatar leak the list at this critical time? As Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, wrote on Twitter, it could be an attempt to undermine serious mediation. But this, as Mr Gargash noted, is counterproductive. The GCC has not taken these decisions lightly, and provoking the region in this way, all Doha is doing is prolonging the crisis. The 13 points listed by the Gulf states require answers, and those answers will only come about through serious dialogue, not through seeking media coverage as leverage.

The tragedy is that Qatar still does not appear to understand that the issues presented by the GCC are legitimate and are underming regional stability. They have flared up now because Qatar has, for many years, been seeking to operate in two different directions, half in the GCC camp, half outside of it. And the result has been to actively harm its neighbours.

That interference must eventually have consequences, which is why we have reached this stage. But it also has a way out, and that way out is now in Doha’s hands. If it chooses to engage in genuine dialogue, the GCC would happily resolve these issues. But if it continues to play a double game, the consequences could be severe. By leaking the list, the negotiations have already started badly.