A group of cross party UK MPs and Peers from the House of Commons and Lords expressed their concern of the potential plans of Saudi Arabia to invade Qatar revealed recently. Kate Osamor MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Alistair Carmichael, Baroness Goudie, Baroness Brinton, Jim Shannon MP, Tommy Sheppard MP, Catherine West MP and Former Shadow Foreign Secretar Hilary Benn MP have endorsed a call from IUNW NGO which urges the UK government to take immediate actions.
The politicians expressed their worry over the revelation in the recent edition of the Foreign Policy Magazine, that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had plans to invade Qatar in 2017. Whereby the Magazine says that during a telephone call on June 6, 2017, between King Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump, the Saudi ruler made such a proposal.
The politicians added that Qatar has contributed positively to solving various political problems across the Middle East including defusing conflicts and functioning as a mediator for peace initiatives. They also said that Qatar is a strategic ally to the UK plays an important role in shaping UK policies in that region
They asserted in the fall that the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar must be resolved by peaceful means; and that the plan to invade a sovereign country and ally of the United Kingdom would undermine Middle East stability and threaten peace across the Gulf region
Furthermore, they called on the UK Government to confirm its commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Qatar; confirm it does not support the current blockade.
Their letter also condemned any plan for armed conflict in the region and expressed their opposition of any escalation or invasion, seeing this action as a hostile act that damages UK interests
They urged the UK government to confirm it would take robust action against the aggressor such as imposing sanctions and stopping all arms deals and military cooperation and would press both the UN, EU and its NATO allies to take similar action.