DUBAI: Bahrain's foreign minister said Monday it was “completely untrue” that Kuwait would mediate to resolve Bahrain's political crisis. The island kingdom's leading opposition group Wefaq said Sunday it would accept an offer by Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to mediate between Bahrain's Al-Khalifa ruling family and opposition groups. Earlier this month, Bahrain's rulers imposed martial law in the tiny Gulf Arab state and called in troops from fellow Gulf neighbors to quell weeks of unrest during pro-democracy demonstrations by which stalled talks proposed by Bahrain's crown prince. Bahrain Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Khaled Bin Ahmed Bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa said on his Twitter page there were no plans for Kuwaiti-led dialogue. “Any talk about Kuwaiti mediation in Bahrain is completely untrue, there were previous efforts that were not answered, but these were ended by the act of National Safety (martial law).” The Gulf Cooperation Council — a regional political and economic bloc made up of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — had welcomed the mediation move Sunday. “We hope that this initiative will be in the interest of security and stability,” Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah told reporters in Kuwait. More than 60 percent of Bahrainis are sidind with the opposition, and most are campaigning for a constitutional monarchy.
