Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has rejected mediation by the United States to resolve the Gulf Cooperation Council’s crisis with Qatar.

Officials said Saudi Arabia rebuffed a U.S. attempt to mediate the dispute with Qatar.

The officials said the Saudi leadership decided that Washington, with a major U.S. military presence in Qatar, would not act as an honest broker.

“There will not be any breakthrough unless Qatar, which caused the crisis, changes its policies,” Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said.

In a briefing on March 18, Saud dismissed the prospect of U.S. mediation between Qatar and the rest of the GCC. The foreign minister stressed that the feud was an Arab issue.

“No American mediation to put an end to the crisis,” Saud said.

Officials said the U.S. administration wanted to resolve the crisis
ahead of the visit by President Barack Obama to Saudi Arabia in late March.
They said Washington expressed concern that the confrontation by Bahrain,
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would hamper U.S. plans to enhance
GCC military and security cooperation.

On March 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors
from Qatar amid allegations that it was helping the Muslim Brotherhood and
Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah. Riyad has also demanded the
closure of Qatar’s A-Jazeera satellite channel as well as the U.S.-sponsored
Brookings Doha Center and the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies.

For his part, Saud said he expected Qatar to maintain links with the
GCC. He cited plans to establish a GCC economic union.

“I don’t think so, because the Gulf union aims at further strengthening
integration and cooperation between the member states,” Saud, asked whether
Qatar would torpedo the union, said.

  GCC, Muslim Brotherhood, Prince Saud Al Faisal, Saudi says U.S. mediation would not resolve Qatar dispute