Arab Analyst: PGCC Collapsing

Rasa - Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Ray al-Youm newspaper, says present conditions and proofs show deteriorating conflicts between Qatar and other Saudi-led Arab states, warning that the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) is falling.

News ID: 433172

Date: 16 October 2017 - 20:11

RNA - Atwan described Kuwaiti Emir's Monday visit to Riyadh to hold talks with the Saudi officials on Qatar as decisive, and underlined the possibility of raising tensions between Qatar and the Saudi-led anti-Doha coalition.

"The Kuwaiti Emir's trip to Riyadh which will take some hours and his meeting with King Salman will possibly decide the fate of the PGCC to see if the Council can live on as a regional body or it should be divided into two or several groups," he added.

According to Atwan, certain Arab media outlets have obtained information saying that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain will not participate in the PGCC's meeting in Kuwait if the Qatari Emir comes in attendance.

In relevant remarks in August, former Iranian Ambassador to Qatar Abdollah Sohrabi referred to the darkened relations among members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, saying that the PGCC might collapse soon.

"Developments in the Persian Gulf region these days show that Saudi Arabia's policy in the region, specially in the PGCC, have failed and resulted in a type of change of view in its structure. The Qatari foreign ministry's statement about returning its ambassador to Tehran can also be assessed in line with the same developments," Sohrabi said.

"Qatar's separation from the PGCC and after that Oman's change of position on Syria indicate a rift in the PGCC due to Saudi Arabia's strategic mistakes," he added.

Sohrabi said that the conditions in the regional states show that the PGCC is on a transition stage and might be replaced by foreign actors, noting that departure from the PGCC by certain states is another possibility which should be considered.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar early June, and suspended air and sea communication one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, accusing Doha of supporting terrorist organizations and destabilizing the situation in the Middle East.

Qatar rejected claims by a Saudi-led bloc of countries that it “finances terrorism” and intervenes in their internal affairs.

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