DUBAI: The UAE, one of four Arab countries that have imposed sanctions on Qatar, yesterday said that Doha needed to change its policies before a dialogue could take place.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said a call for dialogue by Qatar’s Amir Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was welcome, but this could only happen after Doha had made changes.
He did not specify these, but the four countries involved have issued more than a dozen demands, telling Qatar to close down Al Jazeera television, curb relations with Iran and shut down a Turkish military base.
“Dialogue is necessary and needed but its backbone has to be revision,” Gargash said on his Twitter account.
He expressed disappointment with a speech by Shaikh Tamim on Friday. “I had hoped that the speech of Shaikh Tamim would be an initiative for revision,” Gargash said.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s BeIN sports network was broadcasting again yesterday in the UAE, according to subscribers to its channels.
“We are again receiving the network of BeIN sports channels, distributed by Du,” one customer said.
Etisalat had also reinstated BeIN sports, according to several subscribers to its channels.