Turkey cautious over Saudi-Egyptian move on Qatar

Diplomatic action against Qatar by Saudi Arabia did not come as a total surprise, following a number of indications over the last few months. But the June 5 move was beyond expectations: Firstly it was not only from Saudi Arabia, but it also looks to be aiming for the economic as well as diplomatic isolation of the Gulf country.

On the morning of June 5, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates announced that they had cut all ties with Qatar. This included the closure of land, air and naval borders to all movements by Qatar and asking Qatari diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours. Soon, Libya and Yemen joined them with similar reports from the Maldives. The move was explained by Qatar's alleged involvement in "terrorist" activities, implying its links with the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda affiliated extremist movements, and pro-Iran armed groups active in Saudi territory. Qatar has rebuffed the accusations as "lacking evidence."

It can be said that this is a Saudi-Egyptian axis within the Arab countries, taking a strong stance against Qatar in order to challenge its ambitious role in the Arab Peninsula and the Persian Gulf. It may be worth recalling here the intense diplomatic traffic between Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. in summer 2013 - right before the toppling of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood-supported elected president of Egypt, through a military coup led by his Chief of Staff, the current Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. 

On June 25, 2013, the same day as former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was discussing the tense situation in Egypt and its possible effects on Palestine and Israel with Saudi King Suud al-Faysal in Jeddah, the 61-year-old Hammad al-Thani was vacating his place...