Saudi Prince Turki Says `Ball in Qatar's Court' to End Gulf Spat

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar could end a political standoff with a Saudi-led group of nations if it adheres to its earlier agreements to stop interfering in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal said.

“The ball is in Qatar’s court, and they have to perform on that,” the former head of Saudi Arabia’s intelligence agency said Friday in an interview with Bloomberg TV from the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, Italy. Prince Turki stressed that he has no official role in the current government and that his comments are based on observations of recent developments.

Since June 5, Qatar has been boycotted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, which accuse it of supporting terrorism -- a charge it has repeatedly denied. They also resent its ties with Iran, a regional rival of Saudi Arabia.

The group has accused Qatar of breaking agreements it signed in 2013 and 2014 to end a diplomatic crisis that centered on the nation’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood. Those documents, released in July, included pledges “not to interfere in the internal affairs” of other Gulf Cooperation Council members, and not to harbor people engaged in activities damaging to those countries among other measures.

The four countries want Qatar to “live up to the agreement that was signed,” Prince Turki said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Glen Carey in Riyadh at gcarey8@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaa Shahine at asalha@bloomberg.net, Stuart Biggs, Andrew Atkinson