Egyptian, UAE leaders, eying Qatar, discuss terror funding, media role

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (R) speaks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan after he arrives with delegation members in Cairo, Egypt, on June 19, 2017. (The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Reuters)

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan discussed on Monday the fight against terrorism, especially its funding and those who provide it with media cover, an apparent criticism of Qatar.
“Both sides stressed the importance of all Arab states and the international community fighting terrorism, especially stopping the funding of terrorist groups and providing political and media cover,” El-Sisi’s office said in a statement.
The meeting, which took place in Cairo, came hours after Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said Doha had not received any demands from its Gulf neighbors and that Qatar’s internal affairs are non-negotiable, including the future of Doha-based channel Al Jazeera.
The statement did not refer to Qatar or Al Jazeera explicitly.
The channel is at the center of the controversy. Arab rulers accuse Qatar of using its multi-million-dollar franchise as a mouthpiece to attack them.
Gulf neighbors have long viewed Qatar’s foreign policy with suspicion, especially its refusal to shun Iran, and resented Al Jazeera for its readiness to air unwelcome or dissenting views from across the region. Saudi Arabia and the UAE shut down the channel when the rift happened.
Egypt views Al Jazeera as critical of its government, and the channel has been banned there since 2013. Al Jazeera says it is an independent news service giving a voice to everyone in the region.
Egyptian security forces have arrested several of its reporters and last year a Cairo court recommended the death penalty for two of them, charged in absentia with endangering national security by leaking state secrets to Qatar.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Mohammed said that he plans to travel to the US next week to discuss the impact of the rift on Qatar’s economy and on the fight against terrorism.
Sheikh Mohammed also told journalists in Doha that Qatar was ready to engage in a dialogue with other Gulf parties to resolve the crisis based on clear principles and that Doha still believed a solution was possible through Kuwaiti mediation.