UAE-Saudi split rumour ‘just a Qatari fabrication’

UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash debunked yesterday rumours alleging a policy split between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and accused Qatar of sinking to “desperate attempts” to fabricate such reports. Dr Gargash, in a series of tweets on Friday, said Doha is “fishing in troubled waters” in its baseless attempts to sow discord between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“Our redeployment in Hodeidah is a product of expanded dialogue within the alliance [with Riyadh] and we agreed with Saudi Arabia on a forthcoming strategy in Yemen,” he tweeted. Dr Gargash added: “On Iran, our joint position is to avoid a confrontation and prioritise political action, while Doha seeks to fish in troubled waters by exaggerating a routine meeting.” The meeting Dr Gargash is referring to was held this week between the UAE and Iranian coast guard officials to discuss fishing issues.

Qatari-owned  Al Jazeera  spun the news and dubbed the meeting in its coverage as a “UAE betrayal to Saudi”. Dr Gargash referenced in his tweets the latest column by author Abdul Rahman Rashed in Al Arabiya where he wrote that Qatari outlets have “turned their attention to Abu Dhabi, seeking to instigate problems between UAE and the Kingdom through dramatised and exaggerated news stories, as well as outright fabricated reports”.

In his tweet, Dr Gargash said Mr Rashed’s assessment was “extremely important” and added that Doha will not achieve its goal of creating a rift between Saudi and the UAE. Dr Gargash advised Qatar to address its own crisis with the quartet instead of deepening it, and argued that the UAE-Saudi alliance is here to stay and will only grow.