DOHA: Gulf states on Monday cut diplomatic ties with neighbouring Qatar and kicked it out of a military coalition, less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited the region to cement ties with powerhouse Saudi Arabia.
In the region’s most serious diplomatic crisis in years, Qatar’s Gulf neighbours Riyadh, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates as well as Egypt all announced they were severing ties with gas-rich Qatar.
Riyadh cut diplomatic relations and closed borders with its neighbour to “protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.
A Saudi official cited by SPA said Riyadh decided to “sever diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and to close all land, sea and aviation ports.”
The “decisive” measure was due to the “gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years,” the Saudi statement said. Many expatriate and Saudi travellers use Qatar as their gateway into the kingdom.
A Saudi-led coalition which for more than two years has been fighting Iran-backed rebels in Yemen separately announced Qatar was no longer welcome in the alliance.
In a statement, the coalition accused Qatar of “support to (terrorist) organisations in Yemen”.
