Qatar is in a state of “denial” over its Saudi-led isolation in the Gulf, and will have to change its policies for any mediation effort to be successful, U.A.E. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in an interview in Dubai.
BLOOMBERG.COM

“For us, this a critical issue and there is no turning back to the status quo. There is no turning back to where we were,” Gargash said on Wednesday. The United Arab Emirates and its allies hope that “cooler heads, wiser heads” will emerge in Doha, he said, and that the country “would actually understand that its natural habitat is the Gulf.” The minister said he hoped there wouldn’t be a need for further sanctions, but the allies were “ready for it” if necessary. The U.A.E. on Monday joined Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries in breaking diplomatic relations with Qatar and closing transport routes, accusing its neighbor of supporting extremists, including proxies of Shiite Muslim Iran and the Sunni militants of al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

Read more>