Did the Emirates sabotage Qatar in the European Parliament? History of tensions between the two countries
Did Qatargate in the European Parliament start from a tip from the United Arab Emirates? From Abu Dhabi they deny, but historically there is bad blood between the Emirates and Qatar. Here because
According to the Belgian newspapers Le Soir and Knack , the so-called "Qatargate" case – i.e. the case of alleged corruption of current and former members of the European Parliament by Qatar – began with the declassification of an investigation by the Belgian secret services . But the report that would have triggered the Brussels intelligence investigation would have come from the United Arab Emirates, Il Corriere della Sera wrote today.
This morning Ettore Sequi, the secretary general of the foreign ministry, met the head of the UAE's anti-money laundering committee, Hamid Said Al Zaaibi, at the Farnesina to discuss cooperation in the financial sector.
DENIED INVOLVEMENT
Ebtesam Al-Ketbi, founder of the UAE think tank Emirates Policy Center, however denied any involvement of Abu Dhabi in the affair. "The United Arab Emirates are absolutely unrelated to this investigation," he told Adnkronos , and do not derive "any benefit from this affair".
THE DIPLOMATIC CRISIS BETWEEN THE EMIRATES AND QATAR
Relations between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are improving, but elements of tension still remain.
The diplomatic crisis between the two countries, which led Abu Dhabi to break diplomatic relations, dates back to 2017.
In that year, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism (i.e. the Palestinian group Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist-political organization to which Mohammed Morsi belonged, the 'ex-Egyptian president deposed by al-Sisi) and to be in close relations with Iran (the main adversary of the Saudis, above all) and with Turkey (Emirati rival and defender of the Muslim Brotherhood).
The monarchy at the helm of the Emirates – but it is not the only one – considers the Muslim Brotherhood and their ideology a danger to the maintenance of its power.
The four Arab countries also decided to impose an embargo on Qatar, which was only lifted last year. Since then Doha's political relations with Riyadh and Cairo have recovered quite well. Those with Abu Dhabi, on the other hand, are less: the Emirates have not yet appointed an ambassador to the country, for example.
MBZ'S VISIT TO QATAR
Last December 5, in an important gesture for bilateral relations, UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ for short) paid a visit to Qatar, the first since the end of the economic boycott in January 2021.
MBZ spoke of the organization of the World Cup in the country as "a success and an honor for all" Arab states.
EMIRATES AND QATAR RIVAL IN LIBYA
Emirates and Qatar are also rivals in Libya.
The support guaranteed by Abu Dhabi to General Khalifa Haftar, who has his stronghold in Cyreinaica (eastern Libya), can be explained – as Middle East expert Cinzia Bianco declared to Startmag – with the desire "to weaken one's own geopolitical counterpart, which it is represented by the whole constellation that is traced back to the Muslim Brotherhood movement”, namely Turkey and Qatar, which defend the Tripoli government.
RELATIONSHIPS IMPROVE
However, the past two years have seen an improvement in the UAE's relations with Qatar, Iran and Turkey, aimed at smoothing tensions and promoting economic and trade opportunities.
UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nayhan, brother of the president, has visited Qatar twice since the end of the embargo: the last time was in June.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/qatar-emirati-arabi-uniti-rivalita/ on Thu, 15 Dec 2022 14:26:07 +0000.