JEDDAH: The Anti Terror Quartet (ATQ) — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Egypt — never considered military escalation against Qatar, a statement issued by the four countries confirmed.
The statement was released following a joint press conference held in Washington by President Donald J. Trump and Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah. During the conference, Sheikh al-Sabah hinted at a potential resolution to the lingering crisis when he said that Doha has agreed to sit at the negotiation table and discuss the list of 13 demands, adding that he was hopeful that a resolution was imminent.
Shortly afterwards though, Qatari foreign minister Abdulrahman Al Thani gave a contradictory statement to the Doha-based Al Jazeera News Channel, elaborating that his nation wouldn't enter any negotiations until the sanctions imposed by the ATQ are lifted.
"The Qatari FM's insistence on putting pre-conditions to the discussions confirms that Qatar is not serious about them," the ATQ statement stated.
While the ATQ statement thanked the Emir of Kuwait for his mediation efforts, it made it clear that the military option against Qatar was never on the table.
"The Quartet regrets what the Emir of Kuwait said about the mediation succeeding in preventing a military intervention. (The Quartet) stresses that the military option was never — and never will be — an option in any way."
The ATQ statement also thanked President Trump on insisting that the only path to resolve this issue is stop financing terror; and that he wouldn't have the desire to resolve it (the issue) if that is not achieved.
