DOHA, 21 November 2002 — Foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait did not turn up for a GCC ministerial council meeting here Tuesday night, Asharq Al-Awsat reported quoting diplomatic sources.
The sources said Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Sheikh Mohammed ibn Mubarak Al-Khalifa of Bahrain and Kuwait’s Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad stayed away from the meeting, sending junior ministers to represent them.
But Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad ibn Jassem Al-Thani played down the absences of the three ministers from a meeting held to prepare for the GCC summit conference scheduled to be opened in Doha on Dec. 22.
"The differences between GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries can be settled in a friendly way," Sheikh Hamad told reporters after the overnight session. The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE
Riyadh recalled its ambassador to Doha for consultations in late September accusing Al-Jazeera satellite channel, based in Doha, of offending the Kingdom.
Kuwait closed down Al-Jazeera’s office in the emirate’s capital earlier this month saying it took a "hostile" stand. Bahrain has refused to accredit journalists working for the channel.
In October the information ministers of Qatar’s GCC allies accused Al-Jazeera of "insulting and defaming" their countries and called for a halt to all advertising and commercial dealings. Doha usually cites "press freedom" in defense of Al-Jazeera, whose outspoken programs have sparked tiffs with numerous Arab states since it was launched in 1996.
