UK firms with offices in Qatar are "monitoring the situation closely" as staff knuckle down to work during a full-blown siege.
Bahrain, Egypt, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all cut diplomatic ties and economic relations with Qatar for allegedly seeking to destabilise the region by funding Islamic militants. The tiny Gulf state's neighbours have closed their borders, territorial waters and airspace to Qatar-registered aircraft and ships. Tensions have continued to rise thanks to professional troll Donald Trump, who emboldened the anti-Qatar alliance by tweeting his congratulations. He subsequently called Saudi King Salman to advocate unity in the Gulf after discovering that Qatar hosts a strategically important US military base housing 10,000 American troops. Meanwhile, Turkey is understood to be in the process of fast-tracking legislation to deploy soldiers to its own Qatar military base.
On the ground, people are stockpiling supplies and the blockade has led to a run on supermarkets. The desert peninsula relies almost entirely on imports and officials have estimated that grain will run out within a month. Allen & Overy, Addleshaw Goddard, Dentons, Baker & McKenzie, Clyde & Co and Eversheds Sutherland all have offices in Doha. All six firms told RollOnFriday that they were "monitoring the situation closely". A spokesman for Eversheds Sutherland said the firm was "in constant dialogue" with its Qatar team while Andrew Greaves, head of Addleshaw Goddard's Gulf offices, emphasised that "the safety and security of our colleagues and their families is absolutely of the highest priority for us", and that "we are in constant dialogue with our staff and the British Embassy".
However, firms stressed that for the time being it was "business as usual". A spokesman for A&O said, "in its current form, the severance of diplomatic ties and transport links to certain neighbouring states does not directly affect our operations". A spokesman for Clyde & Co said, "we're keeping a watching brief on the unfolding diplomatic situation", but there were "no plans to make any changes at this stage".
Greaves told RollOnFriday, "political instability and posturing in the GCC is not uncommon" and it was hoped the crisis would "blow over quickly without incident". If it doesn't, "we have very clear contingency arrangements in place to relocate staff". None of the firms criticised the siege or commented on its political dimensions, for good reason. This week the UAE, where all six firms also have offices, threatened to imprison anyone publishing expressions of sympathy towards Qatar for up to 15 years.
Tip Off ROF
Bahrain, Egypt, the Maldives, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all cut diplomatic ties and economic relations with Qatar for allegedly seeking to destabilise the region by funding Islamic militants. The tiny Gulf state's neighbours have closed their borders, territorial waters and airspace to Qatar-registered aircraft and ships. Tensions have continued to rise thanks to professional troll Donald Trump, who emboldened the anti-Qatar alliance by tweeting his congratulations. He subsequently called Saudi King Salman to advocate unity in the Gulf after discovering that Qatar hosts a strategically important US military base housing 10,000 American troops. Meanwhile, Turkey is understood to be in the process of fast-tracking legislation to deploy soldiers to its own Qatar military base.
On the ground, people are stockpiling supplies and the blockade has led to a run on supermarkets. The desert peninsula relies almost entirely on imports and officials have estimated that grain will run out within a month. Allen & Overy, Addleshaw Goddard, Dentons, Baker & McKenzie, Clyde & Co and Eversheds Sutherland all have offices in Doha. All six firms told RollOnFriday that they were "monitoring the situation closely". A spokesman for Eversheds Sutherland said the firm was "in constant dialogue" with its Qatar team while Andrew Greaves, head of Addleshaw Goddard's Gulf offices, emphasised that "the safety and security of our colleagues and their families is absolutely of the highest priority for us", and that "we are in constant dialogue with our staff and the British Embassy".
 |
Before long everything was almost back to normal. |
However, firms stressed that for the time being it was "business as usual". A spokesman for A&O said, "in its current form, the severance of diplomatic ties and transport links to certain neighbouring states does not directly affect our operations". A spokesman for Clyde & Co said, "we're keeping a watching brief on the unfolding diplomatic situation", but there were "no plans to make any changes at this stage".
Greaves told RollOnFriday, "political instability and posturing in the GCC is not uncommon" and it was hoped the crisis would "blow over quickly without incident". If it doesn't, "we have very clear contingency arrangements in place to relocate staff". None of the firms criticised the siege or commented on its political dimensions, for good reason. This week the UAE, where all six firms also have offices, threatened to imprison anyone publishing expressions of sympathy towards Qatar for up to 15 years.
Comments
92
75
79
59