The issue of possible Egyptian-Qatari rapprochement came to the fore last week when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia called on Egypt to follow Riyadh in ending its disputes with Qatar, saying that he appealed to the people and government of Egypt to take such a step in the interests of Arab solidarity. However, one diplomat who spoke to Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity said that “rapprochement has not yet been achieved. We need to see gestures of good will from Qatar over the next few months for this to happen.” He questioned whether Qatar would cut its relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, an essential step for Egypt before rapprochement could take place. The next summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) would take place next month, he said, and Qatar would also need to show a change regarding its policies towards the other Gulf States. Journalist Nabil Zaki said that for the time being there was no sign that Qatar was working towards rapprochement with Egypt. “There is no sign that Doha has plans to change its policies. It could be manoeuvring until the Gulf summit, intending then to go back to its old ways,” he told the Weekly. Egypt has issued a statement welcoming rapprochement with Qatar and the decision by the GCC to try to resolve disagreement among its member states. “Egypt will not relent in its support for its brothers. It will fully respond to this genuine call, which represents a huge leap forwards on our journey of joint Arab action,” the statement said. In an interview with the TV channel France 24 before his recent European trip, president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi commented on the possible rapprochement, saying that Egypt was waiting for the results of the GCC agreement before taking further steps. King Abdullah's calls came after an agreement was reached last week to put an end to the worst diplomatic rift to have hit the six members of the GCC. The agreement is supposed to pave the way for a return of the Saudi, Bahraini and UAE diplomatic missions to Doha. His remarks came one day after the Saudi ambassador returned to Doha and resumed his duties, some eight months after he was withdrawn. Saudi Arabia together with Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha in March, after they accused Qatar of interfering in their internal affairs and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. A possible rapprochement has raised questions concerning the future of the Muslim Brotherhood, since Qatar was the group's strongest supporter in the Arab world before and after the ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi last year. A rapprochement could deal a real blow to the Brotherhood, Zaki said. “If Qatar genuinely changes its policies toward the Brotherhood, that could have a negative impact on the group. However, we must not forget that it is the US, and not Doha, that draws up Qatari polices. Doha could have accepted the rapprochement because Washington wants to see a united Gulf in the face of Islamic State, for instance,” he said. The diplomat said that a genuine rapprochement could deepen the Brotherhood's isolation. “A rapprochement will definitely result in losses for the Brotherhood, in both the short and long term. Any possible settlement with it in the future will be subject to new rules and will not be in favour of the Brotherhood,” he said. Neither he nor Zaki agreed that the possibility of a rapprochement could help Doha to play the role of mediator between Egypt and the Brotherhood. “We are not after reconciliation with the Brotherhood. How can we reconcile ourselves with people who have killed civilians, police and army members? Even the word reconciliation is unacceptable,” the diplomat said. Relations between Egypt and Qatar soured last year after the ouster of Morsi following the 30 June Revolution. Doha rejected the ouster, saying that it considered the June Revolution to be a “military coup” and continued to attack Egypt through its TV channel Al-Jazeera. Doha then opened its doors to receive wanted Brotherhood leaders, providing them with a media platform. It also withdrew the economic support it had provided to Egypt during the one-year rule of the Brotherhood. All of this resulted in a major deterioration in Egyptian-Qatari relations, leading to the withdrawal of the Egyptian ambassador from Qatar in February. However there were later signs of easing tension when Qatar expelled some prominent Brotherhood leaders from Doha in September. The Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel has also adopted a different language when talking about Egypt, referring to Al-Sisi as the country's president rather than “the leader of the coup”. Al-Sisi said in his interview with France 24 that he was considering pardoning Al-Jazeera journalists jailed in Egypt for nearly a year on charges of aiding a terrorist organisation. Three Al-Jazeera English reporters have been sentenced to between seven and 10 years in prison on charges of fabricating news and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. The channel has denied the charges. “Qatar has expressed willingness to improve relations with Egypt. Cairo has welcomed this step. The coming few months will tell whether that willingness is genuine or not,” the diplomat concluded.
