Here is how the Qatar-Gulf crisis developed day by day up to December 5.
For the latest updates on the Qatar-Gulf crisis, click here.
Here is how the Qatar-Gulf crisis played out day by day up to February 16:
On Sunday, a report on Buzzfeed revealed that Daniel Kawczynski, a British parliamentarian, was paid 15,000 British pounds ($20,700) to help organise an anti-Qatar conference in London.
At the time, analysts described the conference as an attempt to gather support for a coup in Qatar and accused Saudi Arabia and the UAE of funding it.
On Wednesday, the Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met the President of the Russian Republic of Ingushetia Yunus-bek Yevkurov in Doha.
During the meeting, they reviewed the relations between Qatar and Ingushetia and discussed aspects of cooperation in economic, trade and investment, as well as means of developing them.
Why did this exhibit at the Louvre Abu Dhabi wipe some countries off the map? pic.twitter.com/K9zw5uFNXS
— AJ (@ajplus) January 22, 2018
Anti-terrorism: On Monday, both countries held a session of official talks and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the “fight against terrorism” and organised crime.”
Sierra Leone: On Monday, both countries signed an agreement encouraging and protecting mutual investments and an agreement on air services between the two governments.
Sierra Leone was not among the eight countries that downgraded ties with Qatar at the start of the crisis.
On Friday, Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had intentions to invade Qatar at the beginning of a diplomatic crisis that erupted in June.
In an interview with the Washington Post on Friday, al-Attiyah said his Gulf neighbours have “tried everything” to destabilise the country, but their intentions to invade were “[defused]” by Qatar.
On Wednesday, Fikret Ozer, Turkish ambassador to Qatar said the country plans to deploy air and naval forces to Qatar in addition to ground troops that are already stationed in the country.
“According to the agreement signed between Qatar and Turkey in 2014, all ground, air, and naval forces will be deployed to Qatar,” he told reporters at a press conference in Doha. Ankara and Doha would determine the “timeline of the construction of the necessary infrastructure and when these forces will be deployed through talks”, he said.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt condemned the results of a report by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (OHCHR), on how severing diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar has affected the country.
On Monday, Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah said that Qatar will expand the US airbase at Al Udeid.
“It will very soon become family-oriented place for our American friends there. We want more of the families to be stable and feel more comfortable in their stay,” al-Attiyah said at an event in Washington.
.@DeptofDefense Secretary James Mattis: The U.S. enjoys a longstanding defense relationship with #Qatar. We are grateful to Qatar for their longstanding support of America’s presence and commitment to regional security, including information sharing & #counterterrorism training. pic.twitter.com/xIF7iswDhf
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 30, 2018
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on all sides in the dispute to work to calm tensions, saying a united Gulf Cooperation Council bolstered regional stability.
“It is critical that all parties minimise rhetoric, exercise restraint to avoid further escalation and work towards a resolution,” Tillerson said.
According to a government statement, the US-Qatar strategic dialogue initiative is aimed at stepping up cooperation between the two countries, “which share long-standing strategic interests at the political, economic, security, educational and cultural levels”.
.@statedeptspox: Secretaries Tillerson and Mattis of @DeptofDefense will co-host the US-#Qatar Strategic Dialogue on January 30 to discuss areas of cooperation between our countries, including trade and investment, defense, security & law enforcement, counterterrorism & aviation. pic.twitter.com/gnQ0Afql7r
— Department of State (@StateDept) January 26, 2018
On Saturday, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said it rejected Saudi Arabia’s request to have all matches against Qatar moved to a neutral territory.
“Clubs from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates should be played on a home and away basis in 2018 as per the AFC regulations,” AFC said in a statement published on its website.
Mother’s death. On Sunday, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad ِِِِِAl Thani sent a cable of condolences to the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, on the death of his mother, according to Qatar’s news agency QNA.
First contact. This cable of condolences is the first direct cable to be publicly announced between Qatar and the UAE since the beginning of the crisis, in which Kuwait assumed the mediator role.
The UAE has cut all relations with Qatar since June 2017 and has been accused by Qatar of plotting to undermine Qatar’s currency.
In September 2017, Qatar’s emir and the Saudi crown prince reportedly had a phone call in which the two expressed a willingness to discuss an end to the rift. As reported by state media from both countries, this was the first official contact between Doha and Riyadh since the crisis began.
UAE embassies. Protesters gathered outside UAE embassies in London, Paris and Washington, DC on Saturday to demonstrate against slavery and alleged abuses of migrants in Libya. Protesters also called for a boycott of the UAE, the main sponsor of the splintered government in the north African country’s east region, where most of the abuses have been reported.
George Greene, a protest leader with “Boycott UAE”, told Al Jazeera that the UAE was culpable for Libya’s slave trade.
UAE backing. “There’s a massive slave market in the Libyan city of Benghazi which is governed by a general backed by the UAE. The UAE is responsible for all of what happens there.
“Also, the Emirati city of Dubai has long been a city where women and girls from Nigeria, Liberia, etc, are trafficked. It has done little to combat the enslavement of Africans. It is for these reasons we believe the UAE has to be isolated and boycotted,” he said.
On Thursday, the minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told agencies that Qatar is confident it will host a successful event in 2022, despite the boycott.
Qatar’s economy is now growing much faster than anticipated, and the country is well prepared to withstand the crisis in relations with its neighbours, Al Thani said.
Essential medicines. On Wednesday, EuroMed, a human rights organisation, said supplies of essential medical equipment and medicines, including essential antivenom doses, are not reaching Qatar due to the blockade.
Kuwait denies summoning ambassador. On Wednesday, Kuwait’s news agency cited a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissing reports that it had summoned the Saudi ambassador to Kuwait.
According to the news agency, the meeting between the Saudi diplomat and Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah was “just an ordinary meeting” for “talks on bilateral relations and the latest regional developments”.
No escalation. On Tuesday, Brigadier General Helal Saad al-Qubaisi of the United Arab Emirates Air Force said that he had instructions not to escalate the ongoing crisis with Qatar.
UAE military aircraft will fly alternative routes over Saudi Arabia to avoid the possibility of interception by Qatari warplanes, al-Qubaisi told reporters at a news conference in Abu Dhabi.
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Map replaced. On Monday, Louvre Abu Dhabi replaced a controversial map of the Gulf that omitted Qatar.
“In this instance, the map represented the road of exchange of an ancient vase. The inaccuracy was an oversight, and so we have replaced the map on display,” a statement from the museum read.
Qatar omitted from Gulf map. Last Thursday, the director of the Washington Institute Simon Henderson noted that in “Abu Dhabi’s Louvre Museum, a map of the southern Gulf completely omits the Qatari peninsula – a geographical deletion that is probably incompatible with France’s agreement to let Abu Dhabi use the Louvre’s name”.
The UAE’s Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash and the Chairperson of Qatar’s Museum Authority Al Mayassa Al Thani commented on Twitter about the map.
Why did this exhibit at the Louvre Abu Dhabi wipe some countries off the map? pic.twitter.com/K9zw5uFNXS
— AJ (@ajplus) January 22, 2018
On Monday, the ministers of foreign affairs of the four blockading countries met in Riyadh to affirm “their full solidarity with each other”, as reported by Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya broadcaster.
The ministers also confirmed their position on the 13 demands they had put forward to normalise relations with Qatar.
Visit to Mali. On Monday, Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah met Malian Defence Minister Tiena Coulibaly to discuss bilateral relations in the military and defence fields.
In December 2017, the emir of Qatar visited Mali as part of a tour in six West African countries. It was his first visit to the region since assuming office in 2013.
Sports cooperation. On Sunday, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani received Kuwait’s Minister of State for Youth Affairs Khaled al-Roudhan, to discuss relations between the two countries in sports.
ِAl-Roudhan also thanked Qatar for its contribution to lifting FIFA’s suspension of the Kuwait Football Association, and for agreeing to move the 23rd Gulf Cup to Kuwait.
Saudi Arabia’s Sports Authority Chairman Turki Al al-Sheikh criticised al-Roudhan’s statements in a tweet, describing al-Roudhan as “mercenary”.
Defence meeting. Also on Sunday, Qatar’s Defence Minister Khaled al-Attiyah left Kuwait after an official visit.
In November 2017, Qatar opened a military liaison office in Kuwait to “strengthen the bond […] between Qatar’s armed forces and Kuwait’s military command” according to Qatar’s military attache in Kuwait .
On Friday, the secretary-general of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee Hasan al-Thawadi rejected the claim that some FIFA 2022 World Cup matches could be played elsewhere in the region.
“Qatar is the sole host country of the 2022 World Cup and will host the 64 matches of the tournament across eight planned venues,” Thawadi told the AFP news agency in a statement.
On Friday, Qatari local media released an audio recording of Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani dating back to January 15, a day after his video statement.
In the recording obtained by Al Jazeera, Sheikh Abdullah said: “The Gulf crisis is based on interests and the desire of both Mohammed bin Zayed and Mohammed bin Salman to usurp the wealth and riches of Qatar.”
Sheikh hospitalised. On Tuesday, Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani was transferred to a hospital shortly after his arrival to Kuwait. He was seen in a wheelchair when he arrived in Kuwait from the UAE.
Family confirmed. Also on Tuesday, the family of the Qatari royal confirmed his arbitrary detention, according to Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee.
UAE denied. On Sunday, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry confirmed Al Thani’s presence in the UAE, but denied holding him against his will and said he was free to move as he wishes, according to WAM news agency.
On Sunday, Sheikh Abdullah released a video statement saying he was “a prisoner” in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and that if anything happened to him, “Sheikh Mohammed” is responsible.
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Paid campaign. On Thursday, NBC News reported that SCL Social Limited – a data firm that worked for the Donald Trump campaign – recently filed paperwork showing it helped spread negative information about Qatar.
According to the agency, SCL filed documents showing that the UAE paid it $333,000 for a social media campaign linking Qatar to “terrorism”.
On Wednesday, the Egyptian-born head of the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was reportedly charged with “incitement to murder”, “spreading false news” and “vandalising public property” in an Egyptian court.
In November 2017, two Islamic organisations headed by al-Qaradawi were added to a “terror list” drawn up by four Arab countries blockading Qatar.
This security agreement provides the framework for the exchange of classified information. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE have also signed individual security agreements with NATO.
Three-day visit. On Tuesday, El Salvador’s Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez, who is on a three-day visit to Doha, met Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Direct flights. On Monday, El Salvador and Qatar also signed an agreement that opens the possibility of creating an air route between the two nations as Qatar seeks to expand its flights to Latin America.
En encuentro entre cancilleres de El Salvador🇸🇻 y Qatar se abordaron temas de interés bilateral en el campo político, económico y de cooperación. #CancilleríaSV pic.twitter.com/cmYp6piCRl
— RREE El Salvador🇸🇻 (@cancilleriasv) January 16, 2018
ICAO complaint. On Wednesday, the head of the UAE’s civil aviation body said it would file a complaint to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) about “two serious incidents” and will “ask for the intervention of the council to stop Qatar from repeating the act”.
On Monday, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) accused Qatari fighter jets of having intercepted two of its aircraft en route to Manama.
Qatar denied. Qatar’s foreign ministry quickly denied the claims by the UAE as a “systematic attack” by the country to draw attention away from its violations of Qatari airspace.
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On Monday, US President Donald Trump thanked Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for “action to counter terrorism and extremism in all forms”, the White House said in a statement that suggested a warming of ties between the two countries.
On Tuesday, Doha hosted the Turkey-Qatar Business Forum to boost bilateral trade and ease transportation through Iraq and Iran.
Emir’s trip. On Monday, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Turkey to meet the Turkish president, as first reported by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).
Military aircraft violates Qatari airspace. For the second time, a UAE military aircraft has violated Qatar’s airspace, according to a statement issued by Qatar’s foreign ministry on Saturday.
According to the statement, the violating military aircraft entered the Qatari airspace at 10:10am on Wednesday January 3, flying over the Special Economic Zone in Qatar.
From his side, the UAE’s Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said that “the Qatari complaint about the UAE’s violation of its airspace is incorrect and confused.”
Qatar files complaint to UN. Qatar filed a complaint at the United Nations Security Council against the United Arab Emirates, citing an airspace violation.
The complaint emphasised that the entrance of a UAE military aircraft into Qatari airspace was a flagrant violation of Qatar’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”, as well as international law.
Chairman Ali al-Marri had called on the UN to dispatch an international technical mission to Qatar and the blockading countries to examine first-hand the alleged human rights violations.
Kuwait sentences journalist to seven years. A Kuwaiti court sentenced writer Fouad al-Hashem to seven years on Monday, charging him with insulting the state of Qatar, local media reported.
Kuwait’s emir inaugurates GCC meeting. The 11th Meeting of Chairpersons and Speakers of Shura, Representatives Councils and National Assemblies of the GCC was inaugurated in Kuwait on Monday at 10:30am local time.
Sheikh al-Sabah spoke during the opening ceremony of the 38th summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and called for unity between the Gulf States. “We are all aware of the conditions around us … and of their deterioration that represent a serious challenge to us all,” Sabah said. “The situation is compounded with the obstacles on our GCC forward-looking progress, and this demands that we cooperate, consult and meet at all levels,” agencies reported.
Qatar’s emir sends message to South Africa. On Sunday, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met in South Africa with South African President Jacob Zuma.
Iran invites Qatar to OIC meeting. On Wednesday, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani invited Qatar Parliament Speaker Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud to attend the 13th summit of the OIC parliament speakers to be held in Tehran on January 17-18, as reported by Iran’s news agency (IRNA).
The countries blockading Qatar are members in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) but have strained diplomatic relations with Iran. They have demanded that Qatar followed suit with Iran.
Turkey looks to enhance cooperation. Speaking from Turkey during a promotional event for the turkishsouq.com website, Ahmet Arslan, Turkish minister of transport, maritime and communications said: “Our cooperation with Qatar will not be limited to e-commerce, it will become widespread in other fields and will pave the way for the two countries to work together elsewhere.”
UAE, Saudi introduce VAT. A common agreement on value-added tax (VAT) for the GCC region will officially come into effect January 1, 2018, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announcing actual implementation, Kuwait’s News Agency reported on Sunday.
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman reportedly decided to delay introducing VAT until later in 2018 and 2019.
QCB reserves increase. The Qatar central bank’s international reserves and foreign currency liquidity rose slightly in November, official data showed on Sunday.
The reserves and liquidity, a measure of the central bank’s ability to support the riyal currency, increased to $36.9bn last month from $36.1bn in October.
Qatar, Saudi deny “coup” report. Qatar’s embassy issued a statement on Wednesday denying Turkish media reports of Turkish soldiers foiling an attempted military coup staged by Saudi Arabia. The embassy said the reports were baseless.
Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Ankara issued a similar statement denying the report.
Kuwait says GCC to keep operating despite crisis. Despite the spat the GCC’s work “will not be frozen or disrupted,” Khaled al-Jarallah, the deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Kuwait is expected to hold a conference that will bring together parliament speakers from the Gulf region on January 8 and 9.
Turkey sends new soldiers to Qatar. On Tuesday, a group of Turkish soldiers arrived at a military base in Doha, according to Qatar’s Defense Ministry.The soldiers will join another group which previously arrived at Tariq bin Ziyad military base in the Gulf state.
Qatar’s emir concludes West Africa tour. On Monday, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani concluded his trip around West Africa to Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, and Ghana.
“In Ghana, we have laid down the basis for a broader partnership, along with HE President Nana Akufo-Addo, paving the way to important bilateral projects in vital areas such as air transport, sport and food security,” the Emir tweeted.
Qatar stocks fell in 2017. Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Qatar’s stock exchange index is near its lowest in eight years, down by 18 percent in 2017.
Qatar won’t compete in chess tournament.Qatar will not compete in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh from December 26-30.
36 fighter jets.The US Department of Defense has announced on Friday that Boeing has been awarded a $6.2bn contract to manufacture 36 F-15 fighter jets for Qatar’s air force.
Saudi footballers shun media. Politics has overshadowed football after Saudi Arabia’s team refused to talk to the press on Thursday due to the presence of Qatar-based news channels, including Al Jazeera.
Gulf Cup begins. The 23rd edition of the tournament that was to be held in Qatar starts on December 22 in Kuwait. The tournament will see Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain and the UAE competing for the title.
Kuwait’s Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled al-Roudhan welcomed on Thursday the arrival of missions of all GCC member states to the football cup as “the most important sign of success”.
Saudi permanently closes land border. According to a document issued by Saudi Arabia’s customs directorate on Tuesday, the Salwa border gate has been permanently closed since Monday night.
Qatar’s finances boosted. The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is seeing a surge in business as Qataris register more of their assets at home and multinationals boost their local presence, its chief executive Yousuf al-Jaida told Reuters.
This reflects nervousness among the country’s elite that investments registered abroad could be frozen, as well as a desire by international companies to maintain close ties with the world’s biggest liquefied gas producer, the chief executive said.
Amnesty International calls for end to siege. The human rights group said on Saturday that the blockade on Qatar is “arbitrarily splitting up families” across the Gulf region.
US official accuses Qatar and Turkey. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry responded to Wednesday to remarks made against it by US National Security Advisor HR McMaster.
At a think-tank on Tuesday, McMaster accused Qatar and Turkey of having become the “main sponsors” of “radical Islamist ideology”.
Turkey dismissed the allegations as “baseless” and called on the US to “cease all forms of cooperation with terrorist groups such as YPG”.
Qatar budgets for blockade. Released on Tuesday, Qatar’s 2018 budget plan projects higher spending on supporting food security projects.
Qatar’s Finance Minister said that Qatar was determined never again to leave itself as vulnerable as it was in the initial weeks of the blockade, Reuters reported.
UAE’s local media had earlier criticised Al Serkal over a video that showed him hugging a Qatari official.
Qatar, UK sign fighter jet deal. BAE Systems and Qatar have entered into a contract valued at around $8bn for the country to buy 24 Typhoon combat aircraft, the British defence group said on Sunday.
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Gulf cup to be held in Kuwait. “On the basis of consultations between the leaderships of both countries it has been agreed to transfer the Gulf Cup tournament to Kuwait,” Qatar Football Association president Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani said on Friday, according to local media.
Kuwait Football Association denied reported withdrawal of the Saudi football team nor any other team from the Gulf Cup.
Macron visits Al-Udeid Air Base. A video published by AFP shows French President Emmanuel Macron arriving in Qatar and visiting the Al-Udeid Air Base on Thursday.
President Macron also said he backs mediation efforts led by Kuwait to end the blockade, “with regards to the situation in the Gulf, I want to see a promise of reconciliation between its members”.
Summit closes one day early. The GCC summit concludes on Tuesday, instead of Wednesday as originally planned, and all delegations left after the closed session.
Although it will be Oman’s turn to host next year’s GCC summit, Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yusuf bin Alawi says on Wednesday that the summit will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Kuwaiti emir says GCC structure might have to change. The structure of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council may have to change in the near future to “have mechanisms to better face challenges”, Sheikh Sabah said on Tuesday.
The Kuwaiti emir referenced the possibility of setting up a task force to help deal with future rifts within the GCC.
The Kuwaiti leader said his country will continue mediating in the dispute. “Our meeting today is a reason to continue the mediation, which fulfills the ambitions of our people,” Sheikh Sabah said.
Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood al-Said, Oman’s deputy prime minister, arrives at the GCC summit. He tells reporters upon arrival that Oman “profoundly expresses its appreciation of the efforts of Kuwait and its leadership to bridge the gap, coordinate positions and align viewpoints amongst member states in order to address all developments,” according to the Qatar News Agency. Oman’s ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, has given the efforts his “full backing”, he adds.
The Saudi delegation to the GCC summit, which will now be concluding one day earlier, will be led by Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will not attend.
UAE and Saudi Arabia start a separate partnership. United Arab Emirates (UAE) announces that it has formed a new economic and military partnership with Saudi Arabia separate from the GCC.
GCC summit begins. Kuwait’s News Agency reports the beginning of the 144th GCC foreign ministers meeting at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait City on Monday.
The 38th GCC summit will begin in Kuwait City on Tuesday as a blockade by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against member state Qatar continues, six months on.
A press conference has been scheduled for 10:30am local time (07:30 GMT) on Wednesday, December 6.
Attendees are expected to arrive at the summit from 11:30am local time (08:30 GMT).
Only Qatar and Oman have so far confirmed their participation in the summit. Qatar said Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the emir, will attend. Oman said it will be represented by a high-level delegation.
Citing a diplomatic source, the Anadolu news agency said that Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman will also attend the GCC summit, while Oman ‘s News Agency said that its Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood al-Said will attend the summit instead of Sultan Qaboos.
The talks were attended by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousef bin Alawi, Bahrain’s Assistant Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Dosari, the UAE’s State Minister Anwar Qarqash and Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Thani.
Qatar and Saudi to participate in the summit. “I will attend the ministerial council tomorrow and the emir will attend the summit,” news agencies quoted Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as saying on Sunday at a forum in Doha.
GCC foreign ministers meet. Kuwait’s News Agency reported the beginning of the 144th GCC foreign ministers meeting at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait City on Monday.
The talks were attended by Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir, Omani Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousef bin Alawi, Bahrain’s Assistant Foreign Minister Abdullah Al-Dosari, the UAE’s State Minister Anwar Qarqash and Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Thani.
Qatar’s foreign minister said that the blockading Arab countries are evading dialogue with Qatar. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that Qatar is ready for dialogue if there are any positive steps, “but the blockading countries are avoiding sitting on the table”.
He warned that the Gulf Cooperation Council and the unity of the Gulf states have become under threat in light of the crises experienced by the region, and said that “In the current situation and low-level representation at the GCC summit, we believe that the Gulf crisis will continue in the short term at least.”
Qatar and Saudi to participate in summit. “I will attend the ministerial council tomorrow and the emir will attend the summit,” news agencies quoted Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani as saying on Sunday at a forum in Doha.
Citing a diplomatic source, the Anadolu news agency said that Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman will also attend the GCC summit, while Oman‘s News Agency said that its Deputy Prime Minister Sayyid Fahad bin Mahmood al-Said will attend the summit instead of Sultan Qaboos.
Qatar’s foreign minister said regional chaos a result of that a “power game”. Speaking at the Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome on Saturday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani laid blame for the region’s biggest wars in Yemen, Libya and Iraq on “regional disorder, mainly driven by a game of power” being played out in Saudi Arabia.
He added that the lack formal mechanisms for smaller countries to submit grievances against larger nations were at the heart of the game.
Qatar denies mediation to save the Houthis. Qatar’s foreign affairs media director Ahmed bin Saeed al-Rumaihi rebuffed a tweet by UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, who, on Saturday, accused Qatar of backing Houthi militias in Yemen.
Anwar Gargash tweeted that “Qatari mediation to save the Houthi militias are documented”.
In response, al-Rumaihi said that it is unprecedented for an official source to declare something baseless and rooted in flimsy allegations.
Saudi Arabia to participate in GCC summit. On Friday, diplomatic sources told Al Jazeera that Saudi officials have no objections to attending a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait.
IUMS pledged legal action. The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) said on Friday that the organisation’s reputation has been harmed by listing in the terror list of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.
“A legal request will be submitted to the responsible authorities in the US and Europe to file legal claims to restore and compensate for the harm they inflicted on us. They have damaged our reputation,” said IUMS in a press statement.
“We work for the betterment of all humanity, promoting equality, justice and peace in an increasingly troubled world,” said Professor Ali Al Qaradaghi, the secretary general of IUMS.
France hopes to sell fighter jets to Qatar. French defence minister Florence Parly said on Thursday that she is hoping to sell 12 Rafale fighter jets to Qatar when President Emmanuel Macron visits the country on December 7.
“We’ve also been negotiating for months about the sale of a large number of armoured vehicles and we hope it will be concluded when the president goes to Qatar at the beginning of December,” the minister told BFM TV.
Kuwait sends out ‘invitations’ for GCC summit. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani received on Thursday an invitation from Kuwait to attend the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit scheduled for December 5 and 6.
A diplomatic source confirmed to Al Jazeera on Wednesday that Kuwait will go ahead and host an annual GCC summit next month, and that invitations to all six member Gulf states were sent out.
Referring to Katara and Qatar Airways, al-Thani said: “We will be supporting them financially, we will support them in their organisations, provide them human capital”. In the months after the boycott, QIA deposited billions of dollars in Qatari banks to offset the imapct of the other Arab states withdrawing money from them.
Qatar Charity chosen as Arab Best Charity of 2017. Qatar Charity (QC), one of three Qatar-based charities accused of being involved in “terrorism”, won the award for Arab Best Charity 2017 at the Arab Best Awards held on Wednesday in Marrakech, Morocco.
In 2014, QC was ranked first by the UN for its relief efforts in the Syrian, Palestinian, and Somali crises.
Bahrain’s crown prince meets Tillerson. US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met on Wedensday with Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The two discussed countering Iran’s “malign” activities in the region and the importance of resolving the ongoing Gulf dispute, US Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.
Bahrain postpones trial of ‘espionage’ trio. Bahrain’s High Criminal Court held on Wednesday its second session in the trial of three suspects on charges of having “intelligence links with the State of Qatar” and “revealing defence secrets to a foreign country”.
In the first session on Monday, the trial was postponed because none of the suspects were present, while two of the suspects fled Bahrain and will be tried in absentia, Bahrain’s News Agency reported on Monday.
UAE’s FM decries ICC complaint. UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash accused Qatar of standing behind a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the UAE on Tuesday.
London-based Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK announced the filing of a complaint to the ICC’s public prosecutor office against the UAE ‘use of mercenaries’ in Yemen.
Qatar Central Bank official warns against backfire. Qatar Central Bank official, Khaled al-Khater accuses other Arab states of trying to undermine its currency in offshore forex markets, Reuters News Agency reported on Monday.
Qatar accused in testimony trial. In a federal court trial of three soccer officials, the former president of Colombia’s soccer federation, Luis Bedoya, testified on Monday against a “Qatari television representative”, AP news agency reported.
Bedoya did not receive any money from Qatar, was not in FIFA’s executive committee for the 2010 vote, but he accused an unnamed Qatari television representative to have offered “$10 or 15 million” for “South American support in the FIFA executive committee”.
Still, the Colombia Football Federation supported Spain in the vote for 2018 World Cup host and the United States for 2022. It did not vote for Qatar.
Qatar’s economy minister visits Tehran. On Sunday, Qatar’s Minister of Economy and Trade Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani has met with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s news agency IRNA reported.
Qatar signed a commercial deal with Iran and Turkey on Sunday. According to Iranian state television, the deal is aimed to form a “joint working group to facilitate the transit of goods between the three countries”.
The Financial Tribune said that Iran’s exports to Qatar have increased by 119 percent in October 2017 compared to last year.
Calls for bombing Al Jazeera. On Friday, Dhahi Khalfan, a senior security official in the UAE has called for the bombing of the Qatar-based media network, accusing it provoking a bomb and gun assault on a mosque in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Crisis hurts Gulf oil cooperation. Six months into the Gulf crisis, Gulf ministers have scrapped their tradition of meeting behind closed doors to agree on policy before OPEC’s twice-yearly talks, an OPEC minister said on Thursday.
Kuwait’s FM arrives in Saudi Arabia. Foreign minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah arrived in Riyadh on Thursday in an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia.
Kuwait is scheduled to host the upcoming Gulf Cooperation Council summit in December, while Bahrain has threatened to boycott the summit if Qatar attends.
Qaradawi-led Muslim scholars union blacklisted. Blockading countries on Thursday blacklisted two Islamic organisations and 11 individuals, claiming the entities and individuals are supported by Doha.
Qatar row moves to WTO litigation phase. On Wednesday, Qatar took the final step to start litigation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in its row with the United Arab Emirates.
The prime minister also said that “Qatar is continuing to implement all its major projects, including World Cup projects, to be completed, God willing, ahead of time.”
Qatari messenger arrives in Kuwait. Sheikh Jassem bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Kuwait on Tuesday with a message from Qatar’s emir to the emir of Kuwait, Kuwait’s News agency reported.
The message was about the “brotherly ties” between the two countries and the latest developments in the Gulf region, according to the news agency.
Qatar’s foreign minister ends 10-day visit to the US. Speaking in Washington, DC, where he has been holding talks about the Gulf diplomatic crisis, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt is being used as an excuse to disrupt regional stability.
Qatar urges neighbours to let nationals attend 2022 World Cup. On Monday, Qatar urged the four countries boycotting it to allow their nationals to attend the World Cup in Doha in 2022.
“We hope that the blockading nations see reason in this matter and allow for their people to be able to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general at Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, said.
Qatar’s defence minister discusses the Gulf crisis. On Sunday, Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, Qatar’s defence minister, discussed the Gulf crisis and said that the country has never supported any extremist group.
He also said he has never experienced a crisis similar to this one: “I have lived through many events in the region, but the hacking of the QNA website to trigger the crisis was something very strange, with no precedent.”
QNHRC decries Umrah restrictions. In a statement issued on Sunday, Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee expressed its “deep concern” for the obstacles imposed by Saudi Arabia’s authorities on pilgrims from Qatar.
Citing a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, QNHRC said that it will denounce the Saudi restrictions to the Human Rights Enforcement Mechanisms of the United Nations.
Qatar’s foreign minister decries ‘reckless leadership’ in the region. On Friday, Qatar’s foreign minister criticised “reckless leadership” in the Gulf region for a number of issues, including the Gulf crisis as well as the situation in Lebanon.
“We see a pattern of irresponsibility and a reckless leadership in the region which is just trying to bully countries into submission,” Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in Washington, DC.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee meets UN delegation. Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, chair of the National Human Rights Committee in Qatar, met with a UN delegation from the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Doha.
The delegation arrived on Friday to collect information on the negative impact of the siege on Qatar’s residents and the citizens of the GCC countries.
Qatar’s finance minister in Sudan. Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi arrived in Sudan for a state visit on Sunday.
Erdogan to visit Kuwait and Qatar. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to visit Kuwait and Qatar between November 13 and 15, the Turkish presidency’s information office said in a statement on Saturday.
Qatar Airways will not attend airshow. Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways’ chief executive, will not attend the Middle East’s largest international airshow due to open in Dubai on Sunday because of the ongoing Gulf crisis.
ITUC-Africa calls to end kafala. Commending Qatar’s latest labour reforms on Thursday, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation urged Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to implement similar reforms.
Noting that the three countries account for 85 percent of African migrants workers in the GCC, ITUC-Africa will “step up its campaign to focus on these countries”.
UAE planned to attack Qatar’s financial system. A United Arab Emirates plan to attack Qatar’s financial system has been revealed on Thursday in a folder of an email account belonging to the UAE ambassador to the US, Yousef al-Otaiba.
Ghana’s FM visits Qatar. Foreign Minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey met on Tuesday with her Qatari counterpart in Doha to discuss “ways to boost multi-faceted bilateral cooperation”.
UAE airs song threatening Qatar. A new song featuring UAE singer Hussain Al Jassmi was aired on TV in the UAE on Tuesday night.
The song called “Tell Qatar” criticises Qatar’s policies and warns it against crossing into “danger”.
Qatar Foundation to sell $1.46bn investment. Three Pillars Pte Ltd, an affiliate of the Qatar Foundation, has put up for sale its $1.46bn stake in Indian telecoms carrier, Bharti Airtel Ltd, on Tuesday.
Qatari companies and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund have liquidated several foreign assets since the Saudi-led quartet imposed economic sanctions on it.
King of Morocco on Gulf tour. King Mohammed VI of Morocco has arrived in Abu Dhabi for a five-day visit. The king is also due to pay an official visit to Qatar on November 12.
Qatar to chair WTO committee. Qatar’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce announced on Tuesday that Sheikh Ali bin Alwaleed Al Thani was appointed as the head of the Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) committee at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.
In August, Qatar filed a complaint with the WTO over the blockade imposed on it by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
GCC and EU discuss counter-terrorism: Gulf Cooperation Council official Abdulaziz al-Owaisheq and Belgium’s deputy foreign minister, Ashton Drake, met on Monday in Riyadh to discuss regional developments and the efforts of the GCC and the European Union to counter “extremism”.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE are blockading Qatar, alleging that it funds “terrorist organisations”, an accusation Qatar strongly denies. Bahrain has also called to freeze Qatar’s membership in the GCC.
Saudi FM: Dispute with Qatar ‘very small’. In an interview with CNN on Monday, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, said the issue with Qatar is “very small” and “should not distract people”.
Al-Jubeir also said that the Gulf countries are not seeking regime change in Qatar. “This is not our policy,” he said. “Our policy is to see a change in behaviour.”
Qatar Airways acquires a stake in Cathay Pacific. On Monday, state-owned Qatar Airways acquired its first major stake in an Asian airline, which could potentially allow it to increase traffic through its Doha hub.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE had forbidden Qatar Airways from flying over their airspace, whereas other airlines departing from Qatar would have to inform them at least 24 hours before flying over the airspace.
New Bahraini restrictions. Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior announced on Sunday that Bahrainis in Qatar should use their passports to move between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the State of Qatar, and can no longer just use their national ID as is the case with other GCC countries.
Bahrain has claimed the right to take Qatari territory, as tensions between the two Gulf countries heighten amid political deadlock.
A press release published on the country’s state news agency on Saturday said that Bahrain had “every right to claim what was cut off forcibly from its land and to dispute the legitimacy of the Qatari rule”.
The statement, which references a historical border dispute that was solved by an international court in 2001, did not specify whether Bahrain intends to take any action.
Speaking at the World Policy Conference in Morocco, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Doha is committed to resolving the conflict through dialogue.
The foreign ministers of a Saudi-led bloc boycotting Qatar have held talks in Abu Dhabi, according to Egypt’s foreign ministry. The top diplomats of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain met on the sidelines of the Sir Bani Yas Forum, ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said on Twitter.
He said the meeting “reflected common interests”, without giving more details. On Friday, Egyptian authorities said Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister, would attend the 8th annual session of Sir Bani Yas forum to discuss a host of issues, including the Qatari crisis, the Middle East peace process and developments in Iraq and Libya.
The meeting comes just days after Bahrain’s foreign minister, Khalid Al Khalifa, suggested explicitly on his Twitter account freezing Qatar’s membership at the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The minister also said that Bahrain would not participate in the GCC meetings if Qatar is present at the upcoming GCC summit.
The US Department of State has approved a deal for the support programme of Qatar’s F-15 fighter aircraft at an estimated cost of $1.1bn.
In June, Qatar and the US signed a $12bn agreement in which Doha bought 72 of the multi-role fighter jets.
The Pentagon said it had informed Congress of the agreement involving design and construction work, including the development of cybersecurity, protection, support and other related services.
Bahrain’s public prosecutor charged Ali Salman, secretary-general of the al-Wefaq party, and Hassan Sultan, a former member of parliament, of colluding with Qatar to carry out “hostile acts” in Bahrain.
“The defendants had received financial support from Qatar for carrying out their activities aimed at harming the status and interests of the kingdom,” the statement read.
In a statement, GCC Secretary-General Abdul Latif al-Zayani said the solution to the months-long diplomatic crisis is not down to him, but to the responsibility of the hands of the Gulf leaders.
“Qatari officials and media know well that resolving the crisis and ending its repercussions is in the hands of the royal leaders of the GCC member states,” he said.
Al-Zayani, who is Bahraini, also rejected what he said was an “irresponsible media attack” by some Qatari media to link his nationality with the way he had been dealing with the crisis.
Bahrain is one of the three GCC member-states blockading Qatar.
The economic impact of the diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours has so far been limited, but a prolonged crisis could weaken the region’s mid-term growth, the IMF has said.
In its Regional Economic Outlook released on Tuesday, the IMF warned that if the crisis drags on, it will “weaken medium-term growth prospects, not only for Qatar but also for other GCC countries.”
If the rift continues, it will “slow progress toward greater GCC integration and cause a broader erosion of confidence, reducing investment and growth, and increasing funding costs in Qatar and possibly the rest of the GCC,” the report said.
The king of Bahrain has said his country will not take part in any summit or meeting attended by Qatar unless Doha “corrects its approach”.
Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Monday said that Qatar had shown that it did not respect the treaties and charters that the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) was founded upon, according to BNA, the kingdom’s official news agency.
“As long as Qatar continues this approach, the Kingdom of Bahrain cannot participate in any GCC Summit or meeting attended by Qatar unless it corrects its approach, comes to its senses, and responds to the demands of the countries that suffered so much from its policies,” he said during his weekly cabinet meeting in the capital, Manama.
The Bahraini king also issued a directive to impose visas on Qatari nationals planning to visit the tiny kingdom.
There was no immediate response from Qatar.
US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin has vowed to “enhance” US cooperation with Qatar “to counter the “financing of terrorism”.
Mnuchin was in Doha on Monday to hold a meeting with his Qatari counterpart Ali Shareef al-Emadi, as well as the country’s emir and prime minister.
In a statement, Mnuchin said, “We affirm that the United States and Qatar will significantly increase our cooperation on these issues to ensure that Qatar is a hostile environment for terrorist financing”.
For his part, al-Emadi said that the latest agreement with the US “is a clear indicator of our long-standing political commitment to combatting money laundering and terror financing”.
Turkish exports to Qatar in the four months following a blockade imposed by a Saudi-led group of countries jumped by 90 percent to $216m, according to the Aegean Exporters’ Association (EIB).
In a statement, the EIB also said Turkey’s exports to the Gulf county in the first nine months of 2017 were up by 29 percent to $382m compared to the same period last year.
Steven Mnuchin arrived in Doha for a meeting with the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and a number of Qatari officials, including the Finance Minister Ali Shareef al-Emadi.
The visit is part of his four-leg tour of the Middle East, which includes stops in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has said he wanted an end to the Gulf dispute, and that “Nothing is going to be above our dignity, our sovereignty. But we want it to end. I always say that.”
“If they (are) going to walk one meter toward me, I’m willing to walk 10,000 miles towards them,” he told 60 Minutes programme in an interview aired on Sunday.
“I’m fearful that if anything happens, if any military act happens, this region will be in chaos,” he said.
The emir of Qatar has also said that the Doha-based Al Jazeera television network will not be closed down as demanded by the four countries.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said a group of Arab states blockading Qatar for almost five months is seeking “regime change”.
“We want freedom of speech for the people of the region, and they’re not happy with that, and so they think that this is a threat to them.”
The foreign minister of Bahrain has called for Qatar to be frozen out of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa wrote on Twitter that Bahrain would not attend the upcoming GCC Summit unless Qatar met the demands of the blockading countries.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with the Michele Alliot-Marie, Chair of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the Arabian Peninsula (DARP).
The two discussed the latest developments in the Gulf crisis and ways to develop the relations between Qatar and the EU, according to Qatar’s Foreign Ministry.
Alliot-Marie was in Kuwait on Friday, as part of a tour that also includes Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
DARP works to “ensure that the European Parliament’s position is taken into account in all policy areas pertaining to the EU’s relations with the countries in the Arabian Peninsula”.
Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, has retracted previous comments in which she claimed that Qatar was funding the Gaza-based Palestinian political movement Hamas.
Her reported comments, made in a memo to Congress obtained by BuzzFeed, come as the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed support in resolving the Gulf crisis.
According to BuzzFeed, Haley said “While the Qatari government does not fund Hamas, it does allow Hamas political representatives to be based in Qatar, which Qatar believes limits Iran’s influence and pressure over Hamas … Qatar has committed to take action against terrorist financing, including shutting down Hamas bank accounts.”
This is a reversal of her position at the start of the crisis in which she viewed the blockade as an “opportunity” to tell Qatar to “quit funding Hamas”.
The Qatari emir says the US president has offered to hold a meeting at his retreat in Camp David to put an end to the Gulf diplomatic crisis.
Speaking to the US television programme 60 Minutes, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said Trump plans to bring the Gulf neighbours together in a bid to mediate in the dispute.
“It is true, he [Trump] suggested that we come,” Sheikh Tamim told CBS News’ 60 Minutes about the US president’s offer to hold a meeting at Camp David.
“I told him straight away, ‘Mr President, we are very ready, I’ve been asking for dialogue from day one’.”
When asked by host Charlie Rose about the blockading countries’ reaction, the emir replied: “It was supposed to be very soon, this meeting, but I don’t have any responses.”
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said that his country’s dispute with Qatar has not affected its military operation in Yemen.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters news agency, he said, “Qatar is a very, very, very small issue.”
Mohammed bin Salman said that its war in Yemen would continue in order to prevent the Houthi rebels from turning into another “Hezbollah” on Saudi Arabia’s southern border.
Former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasim Al Thani has called on King Salman bin Abdel Aziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia “to take the initiative”, help the region, and work to resolve the current Gulf crisis.
The former PM said King Salman should act before those who work in the opposite direction destroy the region, expressing dismay over the deterioration of relations between GCC member nations.
He also praised the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, and his efforts to resolve the dispute calling his efforts “herculean”.
All parties made mistakes in the past, including Qatar, but Qatar has never acted with ill intent or malice against any of its Arab brothers especially its GCC partner, he told Qatar TV.
Qatar and Russia have signed military agreements related to air defences and military supplies, Qatar’s Armed Forces said a statement.
The deals were signed during a visit by Russian Defence minister Sergey Shouigu to Qatar on Wednesday.
Shouigu held a meeting with his Qatari counterpart Khaled bin Mohammed al-Attiya, during which they discussed the Gulf crisis, the war in Syria, and efforts in combat terrorism.
Qatar has reiterated its readiness for dialogue to solve the GCC crisis and called on its citizens and media outlets to refrain from attacking “Gulf symbols”.
A statement by Qatar’s foreign ministry on Tuesday was in response to a call by the Kuwaiti emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, for all sides to de-escalate the ongoing Gulf crisis.
The statement said Doha “hailed the appeal” made by the Kuwaiti leader and did not seek to “escalate the situation”.
“Qatar has a strong belief in the fairness of its position in this crisis and its adherence to dialogue based on mutual respect, on the basis of its principles and values,” the statement read.
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has warned of dangers of escalation in the Gulf crisis, cautioning that the collapse of the Gulf Cooperation Council would be the end of one of the last bastions of Arab cooperation.
“We must be aware of the risks of escalation in the Gulf Crisis,” Sheikh Sabah said at a session of the Kuwaiti parliament, explaining that the crisis could worsen.
The Emir stressed that the crisis is at the top of Kuwait’s agenda and that the country’s aim is to resolve the issue and to protect the GCC from collapse, adding that every side is depending on Kuwaiti mediation.
Saudi Arabia supports US President Donald Trump’s stance on Iran after he decided not to certify that Tehran is complying with a nuclear accord, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday.
“(Iran’s behaviour) is not acceptable, and there will be consequences to the Iranians. This is what President Trump has said, and we are very supportive of that,” Jubeir said at a conference in London.
Turkey is seeking to further boost cooperation with Qatar in health and pharmaceutical sectors Fikret Ozer ambassador of Turkey to Qatar, said on Tuesday.
In 2017 the exports to Qatar increased after the siege was imposed. Turkish media reported Qatar would invest a further $19bn in Turkey in 2018, with $650m going to agriculture and livestock.
“We are bringing many products here, but there is no land route between Turkey and Qatar. But now there is a cooperation between Qatar and Iran and Turkey, and there will be a new route between these countries. In due time, we will announce the agreement, which will be signed by the relevant ministers,” the ambassador explained.
A company with “close ties” with Steve Bannon, ex-chief strategist of Donald Trump, was hired by the United Arab Emirates to launch a social media campaign against Qatar, US website McClatchy has reported.
McClatchy said that a $330,000 contract was paid by the UAE to the firm to launch a social media campaign that included calling for the boycott of Qatar.
The hired firm, SCL Social Limited, is part of the same group as Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica is the firm that Donald Trump hired during his presidential campaign to reach voters with “hyper-targeted online messaging”, the website said.
Bahrain’s former football goalkeeper Hamood Sultan was briefly detained by police in Bahrain on Monday, triggering a social media outcry with the hashtag #حمود_سلطان (his name in Arabic).
Later on Monday, a video on social media showed Sultan saying: “There is nothing.. the matter was simple”. In the video, Sultan also praised the King of Bahrain and thanked those who have asked about him.
Sultan previously worked in Qatar for Al Kass Sports TV Channels and had praised Qatar. Public expressions of sympathy towards Qatar are criminalised by law in Bahrain and the UAE.
Qatar’s Chief of Staff Major General Ghanim bin Shaheen Al Ghanim inaugurates the Qatar Defence Attache office in Washington.
Qatari defence ministry said in a statement released on Monday that the new office will further bolster cooperation between the two countries’ armies in “combating violent extremism, terrorism and bringing stability to our region.”
Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani visits Turkey on October 23 in advance of the third meeting of Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee.
During the visit, bilateral relations, as well as regional issues, will be discussed.
The Turkey-Qatar Supreme Strategic Committee was established in 2014 as a mechanism for cooperation and consultation between the two countries.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repetitively spoken against the blockade.
The head of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee said he hoped Spain, through its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council, would condemn the violations of the blockade imposed on Qatar by its Gulf neighbours.
Speaking at a press conference in Spain’s capital, Madrid, Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri said, “We thank Spain for its position, its support for dialogue to resolve the current Gulf crisis.”
He added, “Because Qatar is aware of Spain’s respect of rights and freedoms, especially when it comes to violations of human rights, we hope that Spain will support Qatar to condemn violations and unjust aggression by the blockading states.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Saudi Arabia is not willing to begin direct talks to resolve a months-long diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
The top US diplomat made the comments on Sunday during a visit to Qatar, where he arrived following a stop in Saudi Arabia as part of a new push to end the dispute.
“In my meetings with [Saudi] Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, I asked him to please engage in dialogue, [but] there is not a strong indication that parties are ready to talk yet. We cannot force talks upon people who are not ready to talk,” said Tillerson, referring to his earlier discussions in Riyadh.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir began on Sunday a two-day visit to Kuwait and Qatar.
Bashir will discuss with the two Emirs the recent developments in the region.
In his meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, Al Bashir will also discuss the two nation’s bilateral relations and peace and development efforts in Sudan.
Sudan is among the Arab states that refused to take sides in the ongoing diplomatic crisis and declared its support for the Kuwaiti efforts to settle the rift.
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US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss the Qatar-Gulf crisis.
Tillerson’s tour of the region comes amid US frustration over the lack of movement in the crisis.
“I do not have a lot of expectations for it being resolved anytime soon,” he said in an interview with financial news agency Bloomberg on Thursday.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad received Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Hamad Al Sabah in Doha on Thursday to discuss the ongoing Gulf crisis.
The two men discussed the political dispute – along with Kuwait’s ongoing efforts to mediate the crisis.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said he has little hope that the months-long Gulf diplomatic crisis will be resolved soon, blaming the Saudi-led group of countries for a lack of progress.
Tillerson made the comments on Thursday, a day before he embarks on a trip to the region in a renewed attempt to mediate the dispute.
“I do not have a lot of expectations for it being resolved anytime soon,” he said in an interview with financial news agency Bloomberg.
“There seems to be a real unwillingness on the part of some of the parties to want to engage,” he added.
“It’s up to the leadership of the quartet when they want to engage with Qatar because Qatar has been very clear – they’re ready to engage.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar as part of a week-long trip that will also include stops in Pakistan, India and Switzerland.
The US top diplomat’s trip will start on Friday, October 20.
During the Middle East part of his trip, Tillerson is expected to hold talks about the ongoing GCC crisis, as well as the conflict in Yemen.
His stop in Doha will also include meetings with Qatari leaders and US military officials to discuss joint counterterrorism efforts.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has denounced the “unjust siege” of his country, as he declared that he is “open to dialogue” to resolve the Gulf crisis.
In a statement following his meeting with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, Sheikh Tamim said Qatar is “ready to conduct a dialogue”, declaring, “We are all brothers and suffering because of this crisis.”
In an interview with CNBC, Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani accused neighbouring Saudi Arabia of attempting to destabilise the leadership in Doha.
Sheikh Mohammed said Saudi Arabia is trying to bring back “the dark ages of tribes and putting them together in order to create a pressure on connected tribes in Qatar”.
The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his accompanying delegation left Kuwait on Monday for a visit to Saudi Arabia, according to Kuwait News Agency.
The crisis between Qatar and neighbouring countries is on the agenda of the visit ahead of a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait next December.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is due to arrive in Malaysia on Sunday as part of a three-country tour of Southeast Asia.
The Qatar emir’s two-day stay in Malaysia is his first official visit there. He will be accompanied by several cabinet ministers and a business delegation, according to Malaysia’s foreign ministry.
Audrey Azoulay, a former French culture minister, has been elected the next head of UNESCO, after narrowly beating Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kawari.
Seven countries – France, China, Vietnam, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Qatar and Lebanon – are currently vying for leadership of The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
After two days of a secret ballot that could run until Friday, Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari leads France’s Audrey Azoulay and Egyptian hopeful Moushira Khattab.
In an interview with Egypt Today, Egypt’s top diplomat, Sameh Shoukry, suggested Qatar was using its financial power to influence UNESCO’s 58-member executive council.
“It is an organisation that is owned by international society and cannot be sold to a particular state or individual,” he was quoted as saying when asked about the Qatari candidate’s campaign pitch, “I’m not coming empty-handed.”
Kawari, the Qatari candidate, has so far not reacted to Egyptian allegations, simply tweeting on Wednesday: “Al-Kawari tipped to head UNESCO”
“Qatar’s hosting of World Cup 2022 should include a repudiation of policies supporting extremism & terrorism. Doha should review its record,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash wrote on Twitter.
Qatar, which denies accusations by the UAE and some other Gulf states said in a statement that the UAE’s charge was desperate and “weak.”
“(The) UAE’s demand that Qatar give up the World Cup shows their illegal blockade is founded on petty jealousy, not real concerns,” Qatar’s government communications office said.
“Their weak attempts to tie the hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to their illegal blockade show their desperation to justify their inhumane action,” it added in a statement.
Gargash made his comments after a former Dubai police chief wrote on Twitter this week that the Gulf crisis could end if Doha forfeited hosting the World Cup.
Qatar’s government has condemned an attack on a palace guard post in the western Saudi city of Jeddah.
Two security guards were killed, and three others were injured in the attack.
The attacker, a 28-year old Saudi national named Mansour al-Amri, was also killed.
In a statement, Qatar’s government said: “The Foreign Ministry reiterated Qatar’s firm position rejecting violence and terrorism regardless of their motives or reason.”
Qatar’s government announced measures to help private sector businesses on Saturday amid economic sanctions imposed by some of its Gulf neighbours.
Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani decided to cut rents paid by companies in Qatar’s logistics zones in half during 2018 and 2019, official news agency QNA reported.
Qatar Development Bank, a state-funded body which lends to firms, will also postpone receiving loan installments for up to six months to facilitate industrial sector projects, Al Thani said.
Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the Qatar World Cup Supreme Committee, says the regional blockade against the country poses “no risk” to the football tournament in 2022.
“We have come under criticism and attack over the years, but we have always faced our critics,” Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary general of the Qatar World Cup supreme committee, told The Associated Press news agency.
Al-Thawadi maintained that logistical obstacles are being overcome and building work is continuing with only “minimal” cost increases.
“Our projects are going ahead as scheduled. This (blockade) is no risk in relation to the hosting of the World Cup.”
The US military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the months-long dispute, authorities told The Associated Press.
While offering few details, the acknowledgement by the US military’s Central Command shows the concern it has over the conflict gripping the Gulf, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and crucial bases for its campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, as well as the war in Afghanistan.
“We are opting out of some military exercises out of respect for the concept of inclusiveness and shared regional interests,” Air Force Colonel John Thomas, a Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement.
“We will continue to encourage all partners to work together toward the sort of common solutions that enable security and stability in the region.”
Government troops known as the Emiri Land Forces have concluded a four-day military exercise in the Sealine and Al Galayel districts of the country.
According to a government statement, the exercises, which include reconnaissance operations as well as air landing, was held with the participation of joint special forces, and aimed at “defending the state’s territory, airspace and vital economic and strategic facilities”.
Qatar’s government has enough reserves to support its banks in the face of sanctions imposed by some Arab states, central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani said in a statement on Wednesday.
Sheikh Abdullah dismissed reports of strain on the banking system as fake news and rumours, adding that domestic liquidity was up 8.3 percent at the end of July while the monetary base had grown 1.7 percent.
Zarif left Tehran on Monday morning for Oman and was to head to Doha in the afternoon, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi told AFP.
It will be his first visit to Doha since Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar in June.
Zarif is to meet Qatar’s emir and foreign minister.
As the world’s third-largest cargo operator, Qatar Airways continues to invest in fleet expansion, helping secure a supply of essential items and medicines at a time when an illegal blockade is imposed, the company’s chief executive says.
The emir of Qatar has spoken over the phone with the president of Turkey to discuss “a set of current issues on the regional and international fronts”, according to Qatari state media.
Qatar News Agency said that Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan also reviewed bilateral relations “between the two fraternal countries”.
The phone call came about two weeks after a meeting between the two leaders in the presidential palace in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.
Erdogan has been a major supporter of Doha since June 5, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt cut ties and blockaded Qatar.
The Turkish president has strongly spoken out against the sanctions applied by the four countries, while Turkey has also sent cargo ships and hundreds of planes loaded with food to break the blockade.
Expressing disappointment over “illegal, unethical and un-Islamic” actions of siege countries, speakers at an international seminar in Doha emphasised the need for dialogue to resolve political disputes, Qatari newspaper The Peninsula reported.
Professor Aisha Al Mannai, director of the Mohammed Bin Hamad Al Thani Center for Islamic Contributions to Civilizations, said: “The world has witnessed this unfair generalisation against the state of Qatar with allegations that it supports terrorism without providing evidence.”
“This crisis has been marked by the moral downfall of everything – politicians, religious scholars, media professionals and even artists,” she said.
Jaber Al Harimi, former editor-in-chief of Qatar’s Al Sharq newspaper, lauded the role of Qatari media in covering the crisis.
“The siege countries, by forgetting all ethics, are spreading lies, disinformation against Qatar while the Qatari media has remained committed to morality without resorting to lies and slander,” Al Harimi said.
James Mattis, US defense secretary, has made an unannounced visit to Qatar.
He held talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah at Al-Udeid air base, home to around 10,000 US troops, on Thursday.
Sentiment towards Qatar’s stock market, which fell after four neighbouring Arab states cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha on June 5, has improved considerably, the latest Reuters polls show.
Thirty-one percent of Middle East funds now expect to raise allocations to Qatari equities and eight percent to decrease them, making Qatar the most positive market in the region.
“The Qatari market experienced a remarkable 11 consecutive days in the red during September. With valuations reaching distressed levels, this was followed by six days of gains as local and regional buyers rushed to take advantage,” said Akber Khan, head of asset management at Al Rayan Investment in Doha.
Qatari company Trans Oceans has signed an agreement with Omani maritime transport firm Naseera to facilitate the movement of ferries transporting goods, equipment, cars and tourists between the two countries.
The deal was struck on the sidelines of the Oman Products Exhibition, Qatar News Agency reported.
Qatar and Oman are two of the six countries that comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council. Fellow GCC members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and imposed a land, air and sea blockade on it.
Kuwait, also a GCC member, is leading mediation efforts to resolve the crisis.
Qatar Petroleum President Saad Sherida Al Kaabi said that Qatar would honour its commitment to supply oil and gas to the United Arab Emirates.
The State of Qatar has dealt with the gas pipeline to the UAE in a civilised and humanitarian manner, he said.
Al Kaabi also said that Qatar will maintain its position as the world’s largest producer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and that there is an “expansion of our investments inside and outside Qatar.”
New Instagram content aims to provide dedicated, creative, and captivating information to Arab youth.
Yaser Bishr, Al Jazeera’s executive director of digital, said, “This comes as part of Al Jazeera’s digital transformation strategy to reach users on all available platforms.”
This comes after Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain banned the Al Jazeera “Discover” service on Snapchat.
According to the planning and statistics ministry, imports jumped 39.1 percent to $2.38bn.
Imports were 7.8 percent below their levels from a year earlier, but that still marked a major recovery from the levels in June and July.
Qatari companies and foreign shippers have sought to establish new shipping routes to Qatar via other countries including Oman, compensating for the loss of Dubai as a trans-shipment centre.
Qatar’s third-largest lender, Commercial Bank, is in talks to sell its 40 percent stake in Abu Dhabi-listed United Arab Bank to the UAE’s Tabarak Investment, sources told Reuters news agency.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Chairman Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri underlined the urgent need to put an end to the blockade during his meeting with US officials.
During Marri’s meeting with the two US representatives, Republican Congressmen Trent Franks and Gus Bilirakis, he urged them to condemn the blockade against Qatar and to take the appropriate measures to help lift it.
The camels had to be shipped back from the United Arab Emirates via Oman after they were banned from competing. Saudi Arabia also expelled hundreds of Qatari-owned camels from their country. Many did not make it back onto Qatari soil.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said the blockade is pushing Qatar into closer economic ties with Iran, before questioning the wisdom of the Gulf Cooperation Council’s strategy.
“They said Qatar was now closer to Iran. By their measures they are pushing Qatar to Iran. They are giving Iran, or any regional force, Qatar like a gift,” he told the French Institute of International Relations on Monday.
The FM added that Qatar still has political differences with Iran, including over Syria.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will speak at the French Institute of International Relations on ‘The Gulf Crisis: the View from Doha’, at 12:30pm (Doha time).
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the lifting of a Saudi-led embargo on Qatar in effect since June.
Macron called for “the embargo measures affecting the people of Qatar, in particular families and students, to be lifted as quickly as possible”, on September 15.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani returned to the Qatari capital on Sunday after concluding his first foreign trip since the blockade against his country was announced on June 5.
Thousands of people lined up the main boulevard in Doha and waved the national colours, as they greeted the country’s leader.
On Tuesday, Sheikh Tamim spoke at the UN General Assembly in New York and accused countries that imposed the “unjust blockade” of seeking to destabilise the gas and oil-rich Gulf state.
Residents will welcome the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani back to Qatar on Sunday evening with an event planned to express solidarity on the Doha’s Corniche.
Sheikh Tamim travelled a few weeks ago to meet with world leaders in Turkey, Germany, France and the United States. It was his first trip since the Gulf dispute began in June.
Officials and residents announced on Twitter that they will host a warm welcome for him at the Doha airport, followed by an event along the Corniche.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has reiterated the position of the four blockading Arab nations, demanding that Qatar follow the principles of international law in combating “terrorism”.
Speaking at the United Nations 72nd General Assembly in New York on Saturday, al-Jubeir said: “The crisis in Qatar is jeopardising our policy of combating terrorism and extremism and the cutting off funding of such terrorism.”
The Saudi diplomat added: “Saudi Arabia will continue to counter extremism and terrorism.”
The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates has said Iran’s “hostile and expansionist policy” is the major obstacle to solving all crises in the Arab world.
At the UN General Assembly annual ministerial meeting, Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan accused Iran of interfering in internal affairs of other countries and supporting “terrorist groups”.
The head of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has issued a new call for international observers to urgently visit Qatar and its neighbours blockading it to assess the humanitarian impact caused by the moves of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Qatar’s News Agency (QNA) reported.
Ali bin Sumaikh al-Marri’s call came during a meeting with Craig Mokhiber, head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York and deputy secretary-general for Human Rights of the UN.
Marri urged the international technical mission to hold direct meetings with nationals and residents of Qatar, as well as citizens of the three blockading countries, to listen to their complaints and document the psychological, material and moral damage they suffered, QNA said.
Qatar’s foreign minister met with several dignitaries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York to discuss, among others, the blockade imposed on Qatar by a group of Arab countries.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani held talks with Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign affairs chief, as well as his Italian, Ukrainian and Australian counterparts, Angelino Alfano, Pavlo Klimkin and Julie Bishop respectively.
During the meetings, the Qatari foreign minister discussed the humanitarian impact of the blockade and stressed the importance of dialogue to solve the crisis.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met on Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York City.
The two discussed the Gulf dispute among other topics.
A similar meeting took place at the UN between Sheikh Tamim and UN’s human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
State-run Qatargas, the world’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said on Wednesday it had signed a medium-term sales and purchase agreement with Turkey’s Botas to deliver 1.5m tonnes of LNG each year for three years.
“Qatargas said it would supply the LNG from Qatargas 2 to either the Egegaz LNG Terminal, the Marmara LNG Terminal or the Etki LNG terminal in Turkey.
“We are very pleased to announce this new agreement with Botas which will further strengthen our relationship with our friends in Turkey,” said Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, president and CEO of Qatar Petroleum and chairman of board of directors of Qatargas.
US President Donald Trump has said on Tuesday he thought the dispute between Qatar and some of its Arab neighbors would be resolved quickly.
“We are right now in a situation where we’re trying to solve a problem in the Middle East. And I think we’ll get it solved, I have a very strong feeling that it will be solved pretty quickly,” Trump said in New York as he met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani
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Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) proposed the establishment of a compensation committee, within the framework of the UN General Assembly, for victims of the unilateral actions taken against Qatar.
The proposal was made during the NHRC’s comments in a report presented to the Human Rights Council by Idriss Jazairy, Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures.
The NHRC said that the current situation met all the conditions for the creation of specialised compensation committees, as outlined in the report, adding that this committee must be established under strict guidelines and must have wide authority to make decisions.
Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah and the United Kingdom’s Defence Secretary Michael Fallon signed a letter of intent on Sunday in Doha to purchase 24 Typhoon aircraft.
“This will be the first major defence contract with Qatar, one of the UK’s strategic partners. This is an important moment in our defence relationship and the basis for even closer defence cooperation between our two countries,” said Fallon.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said the world leaders are not doing enough to combat terrorism.
Speaking at the US-Islamic World Forum in New York City, he said: “Terrorism is a scary phenomenon… violence and hatred have helped a lot in the eruption and creation of the terrorist organisations. The international community and the world in general has not done enough against terrorism.”
Qatar’s stock market headed for its tenth straight losing session on Sunday while Saudi Arabia’s index bucked an otherwise weak region because of gains in the petrochemical sector.
On Friday, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said Qatar was ready to sit at the negotiating table to try to end a dispute with its Gulf Arab neighbours. But in the absence of a positive response from the Saudi-led coalition boycotting Qatar, investors did not take the remarks as a sign that the dispute was moving closer to resolution.
Qatar’s index slipped 0.5 percent with Doha Bank dropping 2.6 percent.
In Saudi Arabia, all but one of the 14 listed petrochemical shares rose after Brent crude closed near a five-month peak on Friday.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani will deliver a keynote address at the US-Islamic World Forum in New York on Sunday.
Qatar’s government data showed on Saturday that food price inflation eased in the country during August, suggesting the country was finding ways to reduce the impact of economic sanctions imposed by four Arab states.
Food and beverage prices climbed 4.5 percent from a year earlier in July, their fastest increase since at least 2014, and shot up 4.2 percent from the previous month.
In August, however, food and beverage prices only rose 2.8 percent from a year ago and fell back 0.6 percent from July, suggesting Qatar had succeeded in establishing new channels to obtain food economically.
Qatari shipping lines, which lost the use of Dubai as a trans-shipment centre because of the sanctions, have been establishing new services via Oman, Kuwait and the Indian subcontinent.
Qatari food processors have boosted their operations to make up for the disruption to imports.
US President Donald Trump will hold a meeting with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting next week in New York, the White House said on Friday.
He will meet Sheikh Tamim on Tuesday, and leaders from Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, the United Kingdom and Egypt on Wednesday, a White House spokesman said on Friday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has urged the lifting of a Saudi-led embargo on Qatar in effect since June.
Macron is calling for “the embargo measures affecting the people of Qatar, in particular families and students, to be lifted as quickly as possible,” the president’s office said in a statement on Friday after he met Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Macron “expressed his concern over the tensions that threaten regional stability, undermining the political resolution of crises and our collective fight against terrorism,” the statement said.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said he is ready to sit at a negotiating table to solve the three-month-old crisis.
For her part, Merkel said that no solution was visible yet but Germany would like to help resolve the crisis.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim held talks in Turkey with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his first trip abroad since the start of the Gulf diplomatic crisis.
The talks got under way on Thursday at Erdogan’s presidential palace in the capital Ankara, the Turkish presidency said.
After visiting Turkey, Sheikh Tamim was due to visit Berlin on Friday for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, his first trip to a Western capital since the crisis began. Sheikh Tamim was also due in Paris for talks with the French president.
Turkey and Kuwait have expressed concerns over the ongoing crisis between Saudi-led bloc and Qatar, with Turkey extending its full support to the mediation efforts carried out by the Kuwaiti emir to resolve the crisis.
This came following a meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and his Kuwaiti counterpart in Ankara on Thursday.
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Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will hold talks in Ankara on Thursday with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, an ally of Doha in its dispute with Gulf Arab neighbours.
Turkey’s presidency announced Sheikh Tamim’s trip in a statement on Wednesday but gave no details of the talks, which will coincide with a visit to Ankara by the prime minister of Kuwait, which has sought to mediate in the Gulf Arab dispute.
A three-month dispute between Qatar and four Arab countries has had a negative impact on credit for all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Qatar and Bahrain facing the worst impact, Moody’s Investors Service has said.
More than three months after three Gulf states – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – and Egypt severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, the crisis has created uncertainty in the region, the ratings agency said.
Qatar Museums launched on Tuesday the first stage of the “100 Days of Blockade” art initiative, unveiling five emotive artworks for citizens and residents at Doha Fire Station.
The powerful artworks, which are showcased on the facade of the Fire Station building, reflect each artists personal take on the blockade.
The medium of choice was graffiti, evoking its origins as a form of activism and self-expression, which is easily accessible by the broader community.
The artists involved in this initiative are Mubarak Al Malik, Ali Al Kuwari and Thamer Al Dosari from Qatar; Dimitrje Bugarski from Serbia and Assil Diab from Sudan.
Diplomats from Qatar and the four states blockading the Gulf nation have exchanged heated words at an Arab League meeting in Cairo on live television.
During his opening speech, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi referred to Iran as an “honourable country” and said ties had warmed with its neighbour since the blockade.
In response, Ahmed al-Kattan, Saudi Arabia’s envoy to the Arab League, said: “Congratulations to Iran and soon, God willing, you will regret it.
The Qatari diplomat lamented Kattan’s tone in the exchange, saying: “[It] is all threats and I don’t think he has the authority to threaten and speak like this.”
The exchange then descended into a row during which Kattan and Muraikhi each told the other to be quiet.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Mohammed al-Sada said on Tuesday his country had not missed any oil or gas shipments despite the blockade imposed by its neighbours.
“During this blockade, we have never missed a single shipment of oil or gas to any of our consuming partners,” he said at an event in the capital Doha.
“That shows how committed Qatar is, not only to our economy here and reliability but also to the consuming countries because this is a very strategic commodity,” Sada said.
The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) has condemned the reported arrest of Muslim preachers and scholars in Saudi Arabia, urging Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to order their release.
Salman al-Audah, a prominent Muslim preacher and member of the IUMS’s board of trustees, and more than 20 others “should not be used as pawns in political disputes”, said IUMS in a statement issued late on Monday, referring to the Gulf rift.
“In regards to the crisis [with] the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, al-Audah has done nothing but call for unity between these brotherly countries,” the statement read, noting that his last tweet urged GCC members to “come together for the sake of their people”.
Doha Bank has cut about 10 jobs in the United Arab Emirates and plans to put some staff in the region on unpaid leave, sources said, as it copes with the fallout from Qatar’s rift with its Arab neighbours.
Qatar’s fifth-biggest lender will decide by the end of the year whether to make those going on long-term leave redundant if conditions have not improved, said two of the sources familiar with the matter.
One source said about 100 staff could be put on leave, while another said it might be as high as 200, although the sources said the final number might be different. The sources declined to be named as the matter is not yet public.
In a statement to Reuters news agency, Doha Bank said the information was incorrect, but declined to elaborate. The bank employs 1,571 staff, according to its profile on Linkedin.
A company owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family is seeking to sell Dolphin Tower in Doha, the Qatari headquarters of natural gas supplier Dolphin Energy, sources told Reuters news agency.
Al Ain Properties, owned through an investment vehicle by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Abu Dhabi Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region of the emirate, has within the past two months appointed real estate firm DTZ Qatar to market the 25-storey building, two of the sources said.
Nobody was immediately available to comment from Al Ain Holding, the parent company of Al Ain Properties, or DTZ Qatar.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Doha’s Al Udeid air base – the largest US base in the Middle East on Monday.
Al Thani discussed US-Qatar defence cooperation and efforts to combat terrorism.
The Combined Air Operations Center for the US Central Command, or CENTCOM, coordinates military strikes against the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIL, also known as ISIS) in both Iraq and Syria.
Al Udeid is home to more than 10,000 US personel.
Al-Audah, an influential cleric who was imprisoned from 1994-99 for agitating for political change and has 14 million followers on Twitter, appears to have been detained over the weekend, the posting suggested.
The prime minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani, has held a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The two leaders discussed the developments in the region, including the ongoing Gulf diplomatic crisis between Qatar and a group of four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
Another issue on the agenda was was of boosting ties between Qatar and Japan.
Saudi Arabia’s state news agency says that plans to hold talks with Qatar have been suspended, shortly after the emergence of reports that the Qatari emir and the Saudi crown prince spoke over phone to discuss a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
The call on Friday between by the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – reported by state media from both countries – is believed to be the first official contact between Doha and Riyadh since the beginning of the crisis more than three months ago.
However, there seems to be a dispute over protocol – apparently, over how Qatar News Agency (QNA) did not menton in its report that it was Doha that had initiated the call.
The emir of Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince have held a phone conversation to discuss a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf, according to state media from both countries.
The call on Friday between by the Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, is believed to be the first official contact between the two countries since the beginning of the crisis more than three months ago.
The call was held on the basis of coordination with US President Donald Trump, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported in the early hours of Saturday.
In the phone discussion, the two leaders “stressed the need to resolve this crisis” through dialogue “to ensure the unity and stability” of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), said QNA.
The Qatari emir welcomed a proposal by the Saudi crown prince to assign two envoys to resolve the dispute in a way that respects the sovereignty of states, QNA added.
Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has held a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump to discuss the latest developments in the Gulf crisis, in the wake of a visit by Kuwait’s emir to the White House.
Kuwait has been acting a mediator in the dispute, now in its fourth month.
During Thursday’s phone call, the emir of Qatar welcomed Trump’s position on the need to resolve this crisis through dialogue to ensure the unity of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Qatar’s state media. He also expressed Doha’s position on resolving “differences through constructive dialogue that does not affect the sovereignty of states”, Qatar News Agency reported.
A statement published by the White House on Friday said that Trump “underscored the importance of all countries following through on commitments from the Riyadh Summit to maintain unity while defeating terrorism, cutting off funding for terrorist groups, and combatting extremist ideology”.
US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate in the three-month diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its neighbours, saying “we will be most successful [against terrorism] with a united” Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Speaking at a joint news conference with Kuwait’s emir in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Trump said he supported Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah’s mediation efforts but if that did not manage to resolve the Gulf crisis, he would be “willing to be a mediator”.
“I think it’s something that’s going to get solved fairly easily,” he said.
“We call on our GCC and Egyptian allies to focus on our commitments at that Saudi Arabia summit to continue our joint efforts to drive out and defeat terrorists.
“Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt are all essential US partners in this effort. We have great relationships with all of them right now, maybe better than we’ve ever had.
“We will be most successful with a united GCC.”
Concerns are being raised with the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee over the participation of a British member of parliament at an anti-Qatar conference.
Daniel Kawczynski is expected to take part in the event in London next week, which is being sponsored by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a letter to the committee, the non-governmental organisation, ‘The London Centre for Public Affairs’, has called for Kawczynski to be banned from any nominations to the foreign policy body.
The emir of Kuwait is flying to the US to hold talks with President Donald Trump on the three-month-old diplomatic crisis in the Arabian Gulf.
Kuwait has been acting as the mediator following a political and economic blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt.
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Morocco has been added to a list of countries whose citizens no longer need visas to enter Qatar, official Moroccan media said.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani, who met a Moroccan delegation in Doha on Tuesday, announced that his country “had removed the obligation for Moroccan citizens to obtain a visa”, Morocco’s official MAP news agency said.
In early August, Qatar introduced a visa-free entry programme for 80 nationalities to stimulate air transport and tourism.
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The inaguration of the new port means larger container ships can go directly to Doha rather than docking in the United Arab Emirates, where cargo was transferred to smaller vessels.
The UAE is one of the countries that have imposed a land, air and sea blockade on Qatar.
Qatar Ports Management Company, Mwani, has expanded its maritime network by launching several direct shipping lines between Hamad Port and a number of ports in the region.
The new routes connect Qatar to Sohar and Salalah ports in Oman, Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait, Karachi port in Pakistan, Izmir port in Turkey and Mundra and Nava Shiva ports in India.
The foreign ministers of Qatar and Belgium have held talks in the Belgian capital of Brussels about the fight against armed groups and the Gulf’s diplomatic crisis.
“We are very open to help … organise a possible dialogue in the region,” Didier Reynders, Belgian foreign minister, said.
For his part, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, said that despite Kuwait’s mediation efforts, blockading nations have not responded “since the crisis started 90 days ago.
“There is nothing being provided, neither to Washington nor to Kuwait until now to show any legitimate grievances for all the measures they have taken.”
The emir of Kuwait will hold talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, next week, according to the Kuwaiti state media, as a three-month-old diplomatic crisis splits the Gulf.
“They are claiming that Qatar is interfering in their internal politics, there is no any thing against Qatar. Qatar never accepts to interfere to any country’s politics, and doesn’t accept others to interfere in our politics,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahman Al Thani after a meeting with members of the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.
Qatar’s foreign minister has called on the Gulf countries that have cut ties with it to stop attempting to influence his country’s foreign policy.
10am – ‘No proof’ of claims against Qatar
Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told Indian CNN-News18 on Wednesday that Qatar shows zero tolerance towards “terrorism”, its sympathisers, financers and supporters.
Al Thani also said Qatar has been the most developed country in the Gulf region for 20 years. It is home to many foreign universities, the religious landscape is varied and everyone practices religion freely.
“Qatar has evolved in its own way and the siege we have been facing is an incentive for us to move forward towards development policy”.
US President Donald Trump has held a phone conversation with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz and called for a diplomatic resolution to the Gulf crisis, the White House said in a statement.
“The president urged that all parties to the Qatar dispute find a diplomatic resolution that follows through on their commitments made at the Riyadh summit, to maintain unity while fighting terrorism,” the statement said.
Qatar has acted effectively in protecting its economy against the blockade imposed by other Arab countries, an International Monetary Fund official said on Wednesday after a week-long visit to Doha.
“The impact on banks’ balance sheets was mitigated by liquidity injections by the Qatar central bank and increased public sector deposits,” Mohammed El Qorchi said in a statement.
“These reactions reflected effective coordination and collaboration among key government agencies,” he said, adding that authorities acted quickly to reroute trade and establish new sources of food supply.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed Moscow’s support for Kuwait’s mediation efforts to defuse a three-month long diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
“We welcome all initiatives to resolve the Gulf crisis, and we support the Kuwaiti efforts in that direction,” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart.
Ibrahim Fraihat, a Qatar-based analyst, said Russia was backing the Kuwaiti initiative in a bid to fill a regional vacuum created by the US’ lack of clear policy in helping to end the dispute.
Al Jazeera’s Jamal Elshayyal attended the news conference with Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov and Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari foreign minister:
“Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said that his government has called for dialogue with the blockading countries on at least 12 different occasions, whereas the blockading countries are yet to respond to a single request, the most important one coming from the emir of Kuwait, who is trying to mediate in the crisis.
“Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have yet to respond either positively or negatively to that request. Sheikh Mohammed said this indicated the lack of cooperation and their insistence to not find a solution to the crisis, and in fact make it drag on as long as possible.”
The Asia Pacific Forum (APF), a coalition of 24 national human rights institutions from across the region has expressed its solidarity with Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) following a complaint submitted in Geneva.
Saudi Arabia and its allies, who have cut ties with Qatar and imposed a land, sea and air embargo against it, filed the complaint earlier in August in a bid to have the committee stripped of its “A” rating in the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) list. GANHRI has rejected the request.
The APF congratulated the NHRC for carrying out its work in a professional manner throughout the crisis and stressed that it was always ready to support it.
In its statement, the APF also expressed concern regarding the damages caused by the blockade to thousands of people who have mixed-citizenship families in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE.
Qatari banks are capable of withstanding the pressure of the blockade imposed by other Arab states, the governor of Qatar’s central bank has said after Fitch Ratings lowered the Gulf state’s credit rating.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani, in a statement on Tuesday, said routine stress tests show the banking sector is strong. Qatari banks are highly solvent, profitable and liquid, he said.
The central bank has taken extra measures in response to the blockade, and believes Fitch Ratings will change its decision in the very near future, the statement added.
Qatar may be forced to reduce its capital spending on economic projects and infrastructure if damage to its economy from the blockade intensifies, Fitch Ratings has said as it cut the country’s credit rating by one notch to AA-minus with a negative outlook.
Fitch noted that even before the blockade, Qatar had shrunk its capital spending plans for 2014-2024 to $130bn from $180bn in response to low oil and gas prices.
“The government has prepared scenarios for further cuts to capital spending in case oil prices fall again or in case pressures from the embargo intensify,” it said.
Fitch predicted the Qatari government’s net foreign assets would fall to 146 percent of gross domestic product this year from 185 percent last year, as the government moves money into local banks to offset outflows due to the blockade.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Kuwait at the start of a three-nation tour of Gulf Arab states over the ongoing Qatar diplomatic crisis, where he will also visit Qatar and the UAE.
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, has visited Kuwait as part of a tour of the Middle East.
In a meeting with Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the UN boss expressed his gratitude to Kuwait for playing the mediator role in the Gulf diplomatic crisis.
He said the UN fully supported its position and also praised the country’s leadership for its humanitarian work.
The Ministry of Transport and Communication announced that Hamad Port will be officially inaugurated in the first week of September.
In a statement, the ministry said that Hamad Port will be the largest port in the Middle East and will span an area of 28.5 square kilometres.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Commission issued a report showing that 2,400 Muslims in the country applied for permits to attend Hajj in Mecca but have been prevented from going because Saudi authorities failed to acknowledge Doha’s formal request for their attendance.
“With the time for performing the fifth pillar of Islam approaching, these measures remained in a clear violation to the right of citizens of the State of Qatar and its Muslim residents who want to perform Al Hajj,” Qatar News Agency quoted the NHRC report as saying.
Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency reported that Ambassador Ali Hamad Al-Sulaiti arrived in Tehran on Friday and began working Saturday morning
Qatar pulled its ambassador to Iran in early 2016 in a show of solidarity after attacks on two Saudi Arabian diplomatic posts in Iran following the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia cleric
Qatar and Iran share a massive offshore natural gas field that requires communication between the countries
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed the Gulf crisis with UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday, according to a statement from foreign minister’s office.
The pair discussed recent developments and embraced new paths to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.
For Muslim pilgrims in Qatar who hoped to perform one of the pillars of Islam, the annual Hajj that began this week is out of reach. This is because Saudi Arabia – which overseas and manages Islam’s two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina – has made it impossible for them to go.
The Qatari Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, which regulates and organises the annual Hajj for Qatari citizens and residents, announced it hasn’t received responses from its Saudi counterpart on travel logistics or security guarantees.
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, discussed the “close relationship” between Qatar and the US during a visit to Doha on Monday, according to the state department.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that “the parties discussed the importance of the peace effort to countering terrorists and extremists”.
Kushner is leading a delegation to the Middle East on behalf of Trump. He also with other Gulf leaders.
Qatar ordered the embassy of Chad be closed and gave its diplomats 72 hours to leave, the Qatari foreign ministry said on Thursday, accusing the African country of joining a “campaign of blackmail” with its decision to shutter the Qatari embassy.
Chad said on Wednesday it was giving Qatari diplomats 10 days to leave the country.
The director of the Qatari foreign ministry’s media department said the timing of the Chadian decision shows that it “comes within the campaign of political blackmail against the State of Qatar with the intention of joining the siege countries for very well known reasons”.
Qatar said on Wednesday its ambassador to Iran, who was withdrawn in January last year, would return to Iran.
“Qatar announced that its ambassador to Tehran will return to resume his diplomatic duties,” the Qatari foreign ministry’s information office said in a statement on its website, adding that Doha wanted to strengthen ties with the Islamic republic.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor has urged Jan Figel, the European Union Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion outside the Union, to call on Saudi Arabia to lift the conditions it imposed for the arrival of pilgrims of Qatar to its territory to perform Hajj this year.
The Geneva-based Monitor, in a letter sent to Figel, called for an immediate intervention to end the crisis of pilgrims and to exert pressure for not using Hajj as a tool for political gain, and not to impose conditions on pilgrims.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has held a telephone conversation with Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations.
The Qatari diplomat briefed Guterres on the latest developments in the Gulf crisis and the measures taken by the Saudi-led group of countries against Doha.
The two leaders also discussed boosting cooperation in other areas.
Qatar said it is worried Hajj pilgrims from the emirate face being badly treated if they travel to Saudi Arabia as the row over arrangements for the religious event intensified.
The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs said that considering the ongoing Gulf diplomatic impasse, it was concerned about the safety of pilgrims travelling from Doha in the next few days.
“Given the current situation, it (the ministry) remains concerned and fearful for Qatari pilgrims and a repeat of the harassment of Qatari citizens in June,” read the statement.
Early in June, local media reports claimed Qataris were stopped from entering the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
The Hajj to Mecca, the most revered site in Islam, is a pilgrimage that Muslims must perform at least once in their lifetimes if they are able to do so.
Senegal announced on Tuesday that it has reappointed its ambassador to Qatar who had been recalled on June 6 amid the Gulf crisis.
“Senegal has decided to send its ambassador to Doha back to Qatar,” tweeted Ahmed bin Saeed Al Rumaihi, Director of the Information Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Senegal.
Qatar’s official news agency QNA reported that the decision was made after a phone call between Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Senegal’s President Macky Sall.
The two leaders also discussed boosting relations in various fields and the recent developments in the Middle East, particularly, the Gulf crisis.
A strongly worded statement from Doha’s foreign ministry said it was surprised that Riyadh had decided to restrict the transport of Hajj pilgrims from Qatar only through Saudi Arabian Airlines. The hajj to Mecca, the most revered site in Islam, is a pilgrimage that Muslims must perform at least once.
“Limiting the transfer of Qatari pilgrims to Saudi Arabian Airlines only is unprecedented, illogical, surprising and contravenes the teachings of Islam,” said the statement from the ministry’s information office director, Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Rumaihi.
Earlier, Doha had denied a claim from Saudi Arabian Airlines accusing Qatari authorities of refusing to allow one of its flights to land at Hamad International Airport on Sunday.
An official source from Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has denied claims made by media outlets in the blockading nations that Qatar refused to allow Saudi Airlines to fly Qatari Hajj pilgrims.
The CAA received a request from Saudi Airlines in which they asked to carry Qatari pilgrims, and advised them to coordinate this request with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs through the Qatari Hajj Delegation, reported the Qatar News Agency.
The CAA stated their response was in accordance with procedures followed in the past.
The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has rejected a request by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and Egypt to get Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) downgraded, according to NHRC chairman Ali bin Samikh al-Marri.
Marri thanked GANHRI for supporting the work of the NHRC and urged civil society groups in the four countries to work with the committee to address the worsening humanitarian conditions imposed on GCC citizens due to the measures against Qatar.
On Monday, several international human rights groups sent a letter to the UNHCR, asking them to reject the four countries’ request.
“As human rights organisations, we call upon your esteemed office to reject this complaint, we also hope that you will call on the four countries, through their permanent representatives at the UN headquarters in Geneva, to stop harassment on human rights defenders, and work to upgrade their national bodies, so as to work efficiently to defend the human and his rights, in accordance with international standards in this regard, and to unite to promote human rights in the region especially and in the world in general,” said the letter.
Bahrain’s main opposition has denied media reports that accused Qatar of attempting to overthrow the island kingdom’s government.
Al Wefaq, a banned Shia opposition group, said claims by Bahraini media that its leader Sheikh Ali Salman and Qatar’s former prime minister, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani, conspired to incite protests during a phone call in 2011 were “fabricated”.
The telephone call was made as part of a mediation effort led by Qatar and backed by the United States, Al Wefaq said in a statement on Saturday.
Qatar has filed a complaint before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), against what it calls attempts to “terrorise” travellers who are flying on its national flag carrier.
In a letter sent to the Montreal-based United Nations agency on Saturday, Doha said the Saudi-led group that has imposed a blockade on Qatar has violated international law by broadcasting a news report showing the shooting down of a Qatar Airways passenger aircraft.
The United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, berated Saudi Arabia’s leadership, a series of emails leaked by a computer hacking group “Global Leaks” reveal.
In a 2008 email chain with his wife Abeer Shoukry, published by the Middle East Eye news website on Friday, Otaiba described the kingdom’s leaders as “f****ing coo coo”.
The correspondence also makes a case for Mohammed bin Salman over his cousin and former crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef.
Qatar expressed concern about the safety of its citizens in Saudi Arabia following the reopening of the countries’ border enabling Qataris to attend the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.
“The level of tension between the two nations, the language and the tone of the Saudi media spreading hatred against Qatari people represents a great concern for us,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a visit to Norway.
“Those people crossing the border right now are under the responsibility of the Saudi authorities for their security and safety,” Sheikh Mohammed said, adding that “more than 100” citizens had crossed since Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera, Hassan al-Thawadi said various construction projects, including eight stadiums and a $35bn metro and rail system, are “on schedule”.
Qatar’s National Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Committee (NALMC) is partnering with Washington based Financial Integrity Network (FIN), headed by Daniel Glaser, who served as the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes from 2011-2017.
Speaking in Stockholm on Thursday, Sheikh Mohammed welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to reopen the two countries’ border to Qatari pilgrims as a positive step towards ending the siege on Doha.
The Qatari government will communicate with Saudi Arabia on the safety of the Qatari Hajj mission, he said, and urged Saudi Arabia not to politicize the Hajj pilgrimage.
“We hope that these steps will continue, as well as not involving human matters in the political dispute re-uniting the mixed families,” he added.
Qatar welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to reopen the two countries’ border to Qatari pilgrims, while lashing out at Riyadh’s “politicisation” of religious freedoms.
“Regardless of the manner in which Qataris were banned from the pilgrimage, which was politicised, and the manner in which they were again permitted to make the pilgrimage, which was also politicised … the government of Qatar welcomes the decision and will respond positively,” Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at press conference on Thursday with his Swedish counterpart in Stockholm.
Saudi Arabia news sites have reported that King Salman has ordered measures to allow Qatari pilgrims in to perform Hajj in Mecca
The King has reportedly ordered that Saudi aircraft be sent to Doha to accommodate Qatari pilgrims at his own expense, in addition to opening up the land border
The Qatar Investment Authority does not plan to liquidate its assets around the world and will soon announce major new international investments, the sovereign wealth fund’s chief executive told local media on Wednesday.
“We have just completed a tour of several countries around the world and you will hear about significant investments soon,” Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Saud Al-Thani was quoted as saying by the Lusail newspaper. He did not give details of the new investments.
Qatar’s foreign minister said on Tuesday it will take a “lot of time” to rebuild any trust between the Gulf Cooperation Council members because of the region’s continuing diplomatic crisis.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said: “Qatar has always been one of the founders of the GCC organisation and we still consider that this has a great importance for all of us in the region.”
“This organisation has been built on a strategical security and been built on trust. Unfortunately, what happened lately with this crisis, this factor is missing now and needs a lot of time to rebuild the trust again. We hope that it’s restored.”
Several international human rights groups sent a letter to the UNHCR on Monday, asking them to reject a move by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, and Egypt to have the National Human Rights Committee of Qatar removed from the ‘A’ rating of the International Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions list.
“As human rights organisations, we call upon your esteemed office to reject this complaint, we also hope that you will call on the four countries, through their permanent representatives at the UN headquarters in Geneva, to stop harassment on human rights defenders, and work to upgrade their national bodies, so as to work efficiently to defend the human and his rights, in accordance with international standards in this regard, and to unite to promote human rights in the region especially and in the world in general,” said the letter.
The groups that signed the letter included: Free Voice Organization for the Defense of Human Rights – Paris; Swiss Organization for the Protection of Human Rights – Geneva; International Council for Justice, Equality and Peace – COJEP international – France; Association of Torture Victims in Tunisia – Geneva; Solidarity for Human Rights – Geneva; International Observatory for Societies and Sustainable Development – Tunis; International Coalition for Human Rights and Development – Geneva; and Libya Watch – London.
The UK-based Middle East Eye has reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told two former US officials that he “wants out” of the war in Yemen.
In a leaked email obtained by the news website, the crown prince also known as MBS, reportedly spoke to Martin Indyk, the former US ambassador to Israel, and Stephen Hadley, the national security advisor during the administration of George W Bush, about his intentions.
The details of the discussion were contained in an email between Indyk and Yousef Otaiba, the United Arab Emirates’ ambasador to Washington. In the email exchange, Indyk was also quoted as writing thatMBS “is OK with the US engaging Iran as long as it is co-ordinated in advance and the objectives are clear.”
Qatar’s state news agency is reporting that the country has launched a new route between Hamad Port and Pakistan’s Port of Karachi on Sunday.
Reuters is reporting that the four Arab states responsible for a blockade on goods entering Qatar gave the US assurances that its firms would not be affected if they continued to do business with Doha.
In an interview with the Qatari daily, al-Raya, Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, the head of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), demanded that Saudi Arabia lift all land and air restrictions on Qatar-based pilgrims traveling to Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage.
The NHRC has also expressed concerns about the fate of workers for Qatari-owned businesses in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE, after their employers were expelled.
The group says hundreds of people are trapped in the countries and are living in difficult conditions.
Abdulla Anas, a former friend of the late al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, told the Middle East Eye on Friday that he was “bewildered” by Saudi Arabia’s claim that Qatar supported terrorism by allowing the Taliban to open an office in Doha.
Anas said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tried to host the Taliban before the armed group set up an office in Qatar..
Anas, an Algerian who now lives in London, told Middle East Eye that he made a series of visits to Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2008 in an effort to bring warring factions in Afghanistan to the negotiating table.
Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee has called on Saudi Arabia to make sure its citizens can perform the Hajj without any problems.
Al Marri said Saudi Arabia should “remove all obstacles and iron out all difficulties”, calling for the establishment of direct flights from Doha to Jeddah, as well as opening of an inland entry port for low-income pilgrims, who cannot afford to travel to Saudi Arabia by air.
“If those obstacles are not removed, then the Saudi Authorities are proving that are not willing to enable pilgrims from Qatar to perform the Hajj rituals this year.”
A former Afghan mujahideen fighter says Saudi Arabia was interested in hosting a Taliban office in the country, the Middle East Eye reports.
Abdullah Anas says he made multiple visits to Saudi Arabia between 2006 and 2008 and met senior officials, including the-then head of intelligence, Prince Muqrin, to help establish a Taliban office.
Anas is an Algerian who fought under Afghan mujahideen leader Ahmed Shah Massoud.
Qatar has announced a programme to allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries, in order to encourage air transport and tourism.
Nationals from dozens of countries in Europe and elsewhere including India, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States only need present a valid passport to enter Qatar.
“The visa exemption scheme will make Qatar the most open country in the region,” Hassan al-Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development officer at Qatar Tourism Authority said.
Nationals of 33 countries will be allowed to stay for 180 days and the other 47 for up to 30 days.
Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Qatar’s minister of transport and communications, met on Tuesday with Bishar Hussein, the director general of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
The meeting comes in response to the complaint submitted by Qatar to the UPU, concerning the violations of the constitution and conventions of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) by the blockading countries, which is the first of its kind in the world and a dangerous precedent for the UPU charters.
The officials discussed the violations of UPU regulations, particularly Article 4 of the Union’s conventions, regarding the freedom of transit of postal and postal mail.
Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, the chairman of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) met in the capital Doha on Tuesday with Amjad Shammout, the head of the Arab Permanent Committee on Human Rights.
The meeting dealt with the repercussions of the blockade against Qatar on human rights, the humanitarian situation of the citizens of Qatar and its residents, according to Qatar’s state news agency.
A senior MP of Turkey’s governing party told Al Jazeera that Turkish presence in Qatar creates “a balance in the region” as military forces of the two countries held military exercises.
“Turkey is protecting its own interests through the base in Qatar, rather than taking sides between the parties at odds. And Ankara’s interests require stability in the region, therefore Turkey would be against an attack on Saudi Arabia as much as Qatar,” Yasin Aktay said on Tuesday.
Two US envoys have arrived in Kuwait at the start of a tour of the Gulf aimed at resolving the GCC crisis.
Kuwait News Agency reported late on Monday that retired US Marine General Anthony Zinni and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Timothy Lenderking met with Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah.
The envoys, who will also meet with leaders in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt over the coming days, reiterated US support for Kuwait during the mediation process.
Qatar Airways flights now have temporary access to a new route over UAE airspace, according to an announcement made on the Federal Aviation Administration’s NOTAM (A Notice to Airmen) database.
The move follows a meeting last week with the UN aviation agency’s government council. Contingency routes were planned as part of a preliminary agreement reached earlier this month.
Access to the new route began on Monday and ends on November 9. The route only affects inbound flights.
The National Committee for Human Rights in Qatar has said in a statement on Monday that it considers Israel’s decision to close down the Al Jazeera office “a dangerous precedent illustrating the Israeli occupier’s alignment with actions taken by the countries blockading Qatar, showing their utter disregard for calls by the international community that they respect the right to freedom of expression and opinion and the right to information”.
“The National Committee for Human Rights in the State of Qatar affirms that it will work with its partner organisations at the International Conference for Freedom of Expression towards international mobilisation to limit such violations by the Israeli occupier and the countries blockading [Qatar] that have affected freedom of expression, and to implement the recommendations from the abovementioned conference.”
The boss of Standard Chartered has warned that Dubai risks damaging its status as a financial centre as a result of the trade boycott of Qatar by a Saudi-led bloc, which includes the United Arab Emirates.
Standard Chartered is a major lender across the Middle East and CEO Bill Winters said it could become increasingly difficult for Dubai to act as a comprehensive regional hub for international companies’ Gulf operations if the tension in the region continued.
“There is a lot of benefit we get from having a Dubai hub, we are looking to see what the effect of this will be,” he told Reuters. “There is a risk of turning away from the UAE.”
Qatar Navigation (Milaha), a top Doha-based shipping and logistics group, said it was moving its regional trans-shipment hub from Dubai to the Omani port of Sohar after a diplomatic crisis in the region disrupted Qatar’s trade.
Milaha is setting up a warehousing and logistics operation at Sohar, on Oman’s northern coast, and is exploring other opportunities to expand in that country, the company said on Monday.
The plan suggests Qatar is making long-term preparations to cope with sanctions imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
Israel has said that almost all countries in the region are determined that Al Jazeera “supports terrorism, supports religious radicalisation”, echoing the rhetoric of the Arab nations that have shut down the broadcaster.
Communications Minister Ayoob Kara said on Sunday he plans to revoke the press credentials of Al Jazeera journalists, effectively preventing them from working in Israel.
Qatari and Turkish forces ended a joint military exercise in Doha.
Brigadier Hadi Rashid Al Shahwani, commander of the exercise, said that the “Iron Shield” included training of leaders to assess the situation, planning, control and coordination between the two forces.
The Qatar New Agency reported that the exercise was carried out to support counter-terrorism efforts, “extremism and smuggling operations, as well as to maintain security and stability in the region”.
As the blockade on Qatar enters its third month, the Migrant Rights organisation said the effects are “increasingly felt” by migrant workers in the hospitality, construction and shipping industries.
The Migrant Rights monitor said that in addition to the standard 30 days of paid annual leave, workers have been “asked” to go on “unpaid long leave” for two to three months.
In one case, a migrant worker at a five-star hotel told the group that six restaurants in the hotel have been closed because of the drop in the number of visitors.
The closure of Qatar’s land border with Saudi Arabia has effectively stopped the import and export businesses of many Qatari truck companies.
Business owners, who have complained about less work and higher rents, are hoping the problem is resolved soon.
“We have been affected since the first minute,” Saeed Fadal Ali Al-Kaabi, director of Al Fadal Transport and Trading, told Al Jazeera.
“We are losing money and work is very slow,” he said. “We’re hardly using any trucks.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has asked two officials, including retired general and former Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni, to work on ending the Gulf diplomatic crisis.
“There’s only so much you can do with telephone persuasion,” Tillerson said last week, after vowing to send the duo to mediate.
Gerald Feierstein, former US ambassador to Yemen, backed Tillerson’s choice of Zinni as a mediator.
“He’s a man with tremendous experience and knowledge,” he said. “Hopefully, with sustained effort from the US, we will find a solution.”
Two months after the blockade was announced, local businessmen say it has created new opportunities for the country.
At Don Construction Products workload has doubled in the last few weeks as the company tries to step up its manufacturing of construction chemicals.
Abdulla Hamad al-Attiyah, assistant president at Ashghal public works authority, told Al Jazeera work continues on projects related to the World Cup 2022. He said contracts with $1.7bn have been signed after the blockade was announced.
Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Friday Ankara, Doha and Tehran hope to reach a tripartite agreement on transporting Turkish products to Qatar in a practical and cost-effective way.
“We’re thinking about alternatives for land trade routes with Qatar,” Zeybekci told Anadolu Agency adding that the easiest way is passing through Iran.
He pointed that using cargo planes to carry Turkish products to Doha was not sustainable.
“Shipment by sea will gain importance. We foresee that at least four large tonnage ships would go to Qatar monthly but the land route is an alternative for carrying flexible and smaller packages,” Zeybekci added noting that the easiest option is sending these packages through Iran.
The World Trade Organization has confirmed that Doha has filed complaints against the Saudi-led group that is imposing a blockade on Qatar.
“Qatar has requested WTO dispute consultations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia concerning measures adopted by the three allegedly restricting trade in goods and services from Qatar, and trade-related intellectual property rights,” the WTO said on its website on Friday.
In its complaints against each country, Qatar accused them of adopting measures that are “coercive attempts at economic isolation.”
Officials from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt are set to discuss a complaint lodged by Al Jazeera over the closure of its offices in the four countries.
Media ministers will meet in Jeddah on Thursday to respond to Al Jazeera’s concerns over free speech, Makram Mohammed Ahmed, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council for Organisation of Information, told the state-run MENA news agency.
The states boycotting Qatar have demanded the closure of Al Jazeera.
A tweet by Donald Trump accusing Qatar of “funding terrorism” was among several social media updates by the president that sent advisers scrambling, the Associated Press reported.
Citing two policymakers involved in talks about how to defuse tensions between Qatar and other Arab nations, the news agency said aides had no choice but to rework their plans to reflect Trump’s tweet half-way through discussions.
Policymakers hope John Kelly, Trump’s new chief of staff, can convince the president to tone down tweets at odds with administration policy
Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian, said that a public pronouncement that undermines existing policy creates mistrust and “corrodes morale at the bureaus and agencies”.
Qatar on Wednesday created a new permanent residents status for certain groups of foreigners, including those who have worked for the benefit of the emirate.
In a first for the Gulf, Qatar’s cabinet ministers approved the measures, the official QNA press agency reported, in a move that will likely affect tens of thousands of resident foreigners.
Under the new rules, children with a Qatari mother and a foreign father can benefit from the new status along with foreign residents who have “given service to Qatar” or have “skills that can benefit the country,” the agency said.
Those deemed eligible for the new status will be afforded the same access as Qataris to free public services, such as health and education, and will also receive preferable treatment for jobs in the administration and armed services as well as being able to own their own properties and exercise some commercial activities without the need for a Qatari partner.
The foreign ministers of Qatar and Italy promising to strengthen bilateral relations on Wednesday, as Doha announced signing a deal worth 5bn Euros ($5.9bn) with Italy for seven navy vessels.
In what appeared to be the first response to the Qatari move, Kait said the boycott was in line with articles 21 and article 14 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which allow such moves in the case of security exceptions.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has asked two officials, including retired general and former Middle East envoy Anthony Zinni, to work to end the Gulf diplomatic crisis reported AFP news agency on Wednesday.
Tillerson told reporters that Qatar is so far fulfilling its commitment to the United States, but that he had sent senior US diplomat Tim Lenderking to the region to push for progress.
“And I’ve also asked retired General Anthony Zinni to go with Tim so that we can maintain a constant pressure on the ground because I think that’s what it’s going to take,” he said. “There’s only so much you can do with telephone persuasion.”
Zinni, 73, was a marine general who once commanded US forces in the Middle East. After the military he served as special envoy to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah says the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council is in doubt if the partial blockade of his country continues.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Al Attiyah says the continuing political stalemate is not helping anyone. But he believes there is some sign of movement.
Turkey and its main regional ally Qatar on Tuesday launched military exercises in the emirate that will involve about 250 Turkish troops and 30 armoured vehicles, reports said on Tuesday.
Turkish state media said that the Turkish frigate TCG Gokova had docked in Doha earlier this week carrying 214 soldiers who would take part in the exercises.
The exercises got under way on Tuesday and would intially involve ground forces with naval forces later on, NTV television said. An observation day involving top commanders would take place on August 7-8, it added.
The Swiss Organisation for the Protection of Human Rights (SOPHR) has demanded the Saudi authorities to lift all of the restrictions imposed on the right to worship and to perform religious rituals.
All violations committed during the days of the siege, including obstructing the performance of religious rites, are systematic violations that places those responsible under provisions of international law, SOPHR said in a press release on Tuesday.
Qatar Airways is expected to have access to three contingency routes over international waters in early August, after a UN-led meeting on Monday discussed air corridors for Doha following a rift with its neighbours.
The closed-door meeting with the UN aviation agency’s governing council in Montreal, discussed contingency routes that had been planned as part of a preliminary agreement reached earlier this month, but not yet opened to Qatar-registered planes.
“Within a week or so they should have new routes,” said a source, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, because the talks are private.
The New York Times reported on Monday that the UAE tried to get the Taliban to open an embassy in its capital rather than in Doha.
“The Emirati ambassador to Washington, Yousef al-Otaiba, even received “an angry phone call” from the foreign minister at the time complaining that the Taliban had ended up in Qatar and not the UAE,” the newspaper said.
The reports come from leaked emails between the UAE’s ambassador and US officials.
One of the complaints against Qatar in the Gulf crisis is its alleged support for so-called “terrorist groups” – citing the 2013 opening of a Taliban embassy in the Qatari capital, Doha as an example.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Monday called on all member-states to comply with the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and its addendums, reported Qatar News Agency.
The ICAO executive council held an extraordinary session in its headquarters in Montreal, to review a casefile presented by Qatar on the damages the siege countries have caused to aviation and flight safety.
Qatari Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti said the technical file presented by Qatar to the ICAO pushed the siege countries to waiver and open up seven international emergency air corridors for Qatari flight.
The minister also noted that the next step will be requesting that the airspace above the siege countries is opened up as well, in line with the rights guaranteed by the Chicago convention.
Qatar has filed a wide-ranging legal complaint at the World Trade Organisation to challenge a trade boycott by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, Qatar’s WTO representative Ali Alwaleed Al Thani told Reuters news agency.
By formally “requesting consultations” with the three countries, the first step in a trade dispute, Qatar triggered a 60-day deadline for them to settle the complaint or face litigation at the WTO and potential retaliatory trade sanctions.
“The consultation request is to discuss and clarify the legality of these measures and find a way to bring them into conformity with their commitments,” Al Thani said.
“We have always called for dialogue, for negotiations, and this is part of our strategy to talk to the members concerned and to gain more information on these measures, the legality of these measures, and to find a solution to resolve the dispute.”
The National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) in Qatar says it has sent a letter to the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief on the obstacles faced by Qatar’s citizens and residents who want to do Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
It also said in statement that it sent similar letters to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Arab League in order to explain the violations related to the right to practicing religious rituals.
Qatar’s foreign minister has rebutted accusations by his Saudi counterpart that Qatar is trying to politicise the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca.
“Qatar never politicised the issue of Hajj,” he told Al Jazeera on Sunday.
“It was Saudi Arabia trying to politicise the Hajj pilgrimage amid the Gulf crisis. There has been no suggestion by any Qatari official about internationalising the issue,” he said.
Middle East fund managers have become more positive on regional equities and have a balanced view on Qatar following a drop in valuations and as the shock of the sanctions imposed on Doha eases, a monthly poll by the Reuters news agency shows.
The poll of 13 leading fund managers, conducted over the past week, found 38 percent expected to increase their allocations to regional equities over the next three months and none to reduce them.
The poll showed significantly improved sentiment towards Qatar. Twenty-three percent of managers now expect to raise their Qatari equity allocations and 23 percent to reduce them. Last month, the respective figures were eight percent and 38 percent.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani dismissed Sunday’s statement from the four countries and said sanctions were violating international laws.
“There isn’t a clear vision (from Manama’s meeting), there is only a stubborn policy from the blockading countries and refusal to admit that these are illegal actions,” Sheikh Mohammed told Al Jazeera.
“It’s a continuation of a policy of intransigence.”
Qatar has denied Saudi media reports that Arab states would allow Qatari planes to use air corridors in emergencies, saying they were spreading “false information”.
Qatar’s transport and communications ministry and its aviation authority on Sunday denied claims that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain had taken such a decision, the state news agency QNA reported.
Saudi state news agency SPA on Sunday cited a statement from the Saudi aviation authority (GACA) as saying they had already agreed emergency air corridors, which were identified under ICAO supervision, and that they would be open from August 1.
“Nine corridors have been identified including one in international airspace over the Mediterranean sea that will be monitored by the Egyptian authorities,” SPA said.
Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) has condemned Saudi Arabia’s media for claiming that Qatar had suspended Hajj registrations for Qatari nationals.
The ministry said on Sunday it was a fabricated news that meant to set obstacles for the pilgrims from Qatar to Mecca.
It also said Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah refused to communicate to Qatar and provide safety guarantees 20,000 registered Qatari pilgrims that led to the suspension of registration.
The Qatar central bank’s net international reserves plunged by $10.4bn in June to $24.4bn because of the Gulf crisis, central bank data showed on Sunday.
Reserves hit their lowest level in at least five years.
However, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is believed to have about $180bn or more of liquid foreign assets, which could be used to replenish the central bank reserves when authorities decide that is necessary.
An air, sea and land blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states slashed Qatar’s imports by more than a third in June while exports, excluding its vital shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG), were also disrupted, official data showed on Sunday.
Imports shrank 40 percent year-on-year and 37.9 percent from the previous month to 5.87bn riyals ($1.61bn), Ministry of Development, Planning and Statistics figures showed.
In May, imports fell just 0.3 percent year on year.
Now that alternate shipping routes and suppliers have been arranged, analysts believe Qatar can function fairly well even if the sanctions continue, and still expect it to be one of the Gulf’s best-performing economies this year.
The foreign ministers of the four Arab countries imposing a partial blockade on Qatar have met in Manama, the Bahraini capital, to discuss the potential further measures that can be taken towards the Gulf nation.
The foreign ministers said at a joint press conference on Sunday that they were ready for dialogue with Qatar if it showed willingness to fight terrorism.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain are expected to discuss imposing new economic sanctions on Qatar when they meet in the Bahraini capital Manama on Sunday, according to the pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper.
Foreign ministers of the four countries “are expected to impose sanctions that will gradually affect the Qatari economy”, al-Hayat newspaper said, citing unidentified Gulf sources, without giving any further details.
Qatar reiterates its cooperation with various UN bodies related to the fight against terrorism, Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani tells the UN General Assembly.
“The State of Qatar attaches great importance to working within regional and international mechanisms to eradicate all forms of terrorism and address their causes,” Sheikha Alia said.
“Qatar has been keen to fully implement measures to address conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, enhance international cooperation in the field of prevention and combating of terrorism and to fully comply with the international obligations of the UN Security Council relating to the fight against terrorism and its financing.”
She stressed Qatar’s keenness to continuously update its national laws and regulations related to the fight against terrorism and its financing to cope with any emerging terrorist challenges.
French construction group Vinci has said that its Qatar business had seen no disruption at this stage after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar last month.
Vinci operates in Qatar through its 49 percent-owned Qatari unit QDVC. It also counts the wealthy Arab state as its third-largest shareholder, with a stake of nearly 4 percent, according to Reuters data.
“For the moment, no disruption. Our projects are not disturbed. Qatar is rather looking for friends and this facilitates discussions on some projects,” Chief Executive Xavier Huillard told an interim results news conference.
UAE ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Otaiba, has suggested that the Gulf dispute is more philosophical than diplomatic.
In an interview with America’s PBS on Tuesday, he said the Saudi-led group blockading Qatar wanted to see “more secular, stable” governments in the region, an order he claimed Qatar “fundamentally opposed”.
“What we’ve seen Qatar do for the last 10 to 15 years, [is] support groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Taliban, Islamist militias in Syria, Islamist militias in Libya, exactly the opposite direction we think our region needs to go,” he said. “So our disagreement is about what the future of the Middle East should look like.”
Qatar has filed a complaint with the UN protesting new restrictions imposed by Saudi Arabia against Qatari nationals planning to travel to Mecca for the annual Muslim pilgrimage.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Commission said on Saturday that its citizens have been told they can only enter Saudi Arabia through two airports, and that they must travel via Doha to be allowed in.
This would be challenging for Qataris who do not live in Doha, such as those studying abroad.
The differences between how Qatar and the Saudi-led bloc view the future of the Arab people is at the heart of the Gulf crisis, a senior Qatari official said on Friday.
Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah, Qatar’s ambassador to Russia, told a radio station in Moscow that his country supported the Arab people’s aspirations in the wake of uprisings that began in Tunisia in 2010, Qatar News Agency reported.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, however, chose to go against that current, he said, adding that the four states wanted Qatar to punish those who oppose their governments and brand them terrorists.
“This in itself is terrorism,” he said. “The siege countries are trying to reproduce the regimes that produced terrorism, and they want to convince us that these regimes will fight terrorism.”
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will meet in Manama on Sunday to discuss the latest developments on their blockade of Qatar.
In the two-day meeting, the four countries will press Qatar to comply with their demands, which include stopping alleged interference in their internal affairs.
Qatar said it refuses to bow to Saudi-led demands to “outsource” its foreign policy to resolve the Gulf crisis.
Government spokesman Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al-Thani told AFP in an interview that Qatar’s sovereignty and independence is behind the dispute.
“It (the crisis) is about… outsourcing our foreign policy so that decisions are not made in Qatar, and that is something that will never be acceptable,” he said.
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called on the UN to help resolve the Gulf crisis, adding that the Saudi-led group blockading Qatar has violated international law.
Speaking after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the foreign minister said that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain are showing “stubbornness” and have not taken any steps to solve the crisis.
He vowed that Qatar will spare no effort to overcome what he called “violations” and said “the United Nations is the right platform to start from”.
The United Arab Emirates’ central bank has asked all banks to stop dealing with the 18 individuals and entities added to a Qatar-linked blacklist, the state news agency WAM reported on Wednesday.
The move makes it the first financial watchdog in the Gulf to act on the new blacklist, with regulators in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt likely to follow.
In a circular, the UAE watchdog asked banks and financial institutions to “start immediate search for and freezing of all bank accounts, investments, and deposits that may be held by any individual or entity” included on the July 25 list.
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is in Washington DC for talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
“It was noticed that the blockade states did not react to the suggestions made by the US Secretary of State,” said Mohammed bin Abdulrahman after a meeting on Wednesday.
The Qatari foreign minister added that Qatar had dealt with US advice in a “positive and constructive way”.
“In addition, we discussed our bilateral relations and the memorandum of understanding on fighting terrorism that we signed and the measures we took regarding it,” said Mohammed bin Abdulrahman.
Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, Qatar’s communications director, said the decision by four Arab states to add 18 groups and individuals allegedly linked to Doha to their “terrorist” list has no basis in fact.
“It comes as a disappointing surprise that the blockading countries are still pursuing this story as part of their smear campaign against Qatar,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“This latest list provides further evidence that the blockading countries are not committed to the fight against terrorism,” he said, adding: “All individuals with links to terrorism in Qatar have been prosecuted.”
Qatar said it remains committed to settling international disputes through peaceful means despite a unilateral blockade imposed against the Gulf nation by its Arab neighbours.
Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Sheikha Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Qatar’s envoy to the UN, said her government supports global efforts at ensuring peace and security, as well as international and bilateral efforts to combat terrorism.
Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Wednesday that his current visit to Washington is part of the follow-up efforts exerted by the State of Kuwait in partnership with the United States to reach a diplomatic solution to the Qatar-Gulf crisis.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said that “this visit is also aimed at informing politicians, senators and MPs in the United States about the negative impacts of this crisis on the region”.
The Foreign Minister said that “the US position demanded, since the outbreak of the crisis, the rapid lifting of the unjust siege against Qatar … but the contradictory statements of the siege countries prevented this to happen.”
The Qatari Compensation Claims Committee has received 2,945 individual cases from the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), reported the Qatar News Agency on Wednesday.
Ahmed bin Hassan Al-Hammadi – Secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and member of the claims committee – told Al Jazeera that the committee receives about 100-160 complaints and 60 calls a day.
The Compensation Claims Committee was formed on July 9 to consider citizen compensation or bring cases to the competent domestic and international courts related to the blockade.
The compensation committee was divided into three sections, said Al-Hammadi: the first is to examine citizens’ complaints about violations of human rights or individual damage; and the second for traders who were affected by the closure of land, sea and air borders; and third of government institutions affected by the blockade such as the Ministry of Economy and Qatari Aviation.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said that dialogue was the best way to improve ties between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“I think there is an effort by the Kuwaitis [to resolve the crisis]… I think that they made some progress. We believe that the dialogue is the best way in improving the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” he told reporters on Tuesday at a joint press conference with US President Donald Trump at the White House.
“I believe that maybe the United States could also help in solving this issue in the Gulf,” he added.
Qatar’s foreign minister has criticised Saudi Arabia and three other blockading countries for actions which he said were undermining mediation efforts backed by the US.
“We see there is a negative behaviour aimed at influencing the mediation, either through statements or through (media) leaks which they launch at critical moments,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told Al Jazeera late on Tuesday.
He reiterated the Qatari position that Doha was ready for dialogue on a range of issues of concern but that it would not negotiate over topics to do with internal affairs and that the boycott against it must be lifted.
Egypt has said that the four Arab states would accept no compromise in their dispute with Qatar over allegations that Doha supports “terrorism”.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, speaking after talks with warned the European Union diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels on Tuesday, said Qatar must accept in full the demands by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“It is not an issue of compromise, we cannot compromise with any form of terrorism, we cannot compromise or enter into any form of negotiations,” Shoukry told a press conference.
“It is only once the necessary measures are undertaken by Qatar, that goes towards truly accepting to be a partner in the fight against terrorism, that this crisis will be resolved,” he said.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday described his two-day trip to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar to deal with the Gulf crisis as “productive and successful”.
He told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party at a parliamentary meeting: “The contacts we have made during this visit have been useful, and we will continue our efforts for the stability and peace of the region with increasing determination.”
A number of international, regional and national rights organisations “unequivocally” condemned the Saudi-led group’s demand to close Al Jazeera and other media outlets that Qatar allegedly funds.
The group made the statement on Tuesday at a conference organised by Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee in Doha.
The organisations also expressed their “total solidarity with journalists and other media and ancillary works at Al Jazeera and other targeted media”.
Qatar’s Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah says the blockade imposed on his country by four Arab states must be lifted before engaging in any dialogue with its neighbours.
“Lifting the siege should precede any dialogue,” al-Attiyah said in an interview with Russia Today, excerpts of which was published by Qatar’s official news agency on Tuesday.
“If the blockade countries remain reluctant to lift the siege, Qatar will be compelled to resort to the available international legal procedures to lift it,” he said.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have added 18 individuals and groups to its so-called “terror list”, according to state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The new entrants include entities from Libya and Yemen and individuals from Qatar, Yemen and Kuwait who the Arab states say have direct and indirect links to Qatari authorities, a joint statement by the Saudi-led group said, according to SPA.
A Saudi lobby in the US has launched a television advertisement campaign against Qatar, contracts reviewed by Al Jazeera show, with $138,000 spent on seven, 30-second TV spots.
The TV spots have been purchased by the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC).
Qatar’s Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah on Monday praised Russia’s clear position that supports lifting the unjust siege imposed on the Gulf nation.
Al Attiyah said in an interview with Russian news channel RT that the speech of the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani was clear and comprehensive, laying a road map and telling the truth that many of the peoples knew but that some parties refuse to understand.
He noted that the Emir intended to deliver a speech to the Qatari people and residents since the beginning of the crisis but opted to delay the speech to a suitable time in response to the request of Emir of the State of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, who has led the mediation efforts to end the crisis.
UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed on Monday the call for dialogue Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to resolve the Gulf crisis.
Guterres encouraged all parties to enter a negotiation to lift the blockade imposed on Qatar and seek an acceptable solution for all parties regarding the crisis.
He also praised the mediation efforts of Kuwait, expressing his hope that these efforts will continue.
Russia is ready to help mediate in the dispute between Qatar and four other Arab states if approached, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview released on Monday.
“We are interested in this crisis being overcome, taking into account mutual concerns and finding solutions which will be acceptable for all participants of this process,” Lavrov told Kurdish television channel Rudaw, according to a transcript of the interview published on the foreign ministry’s website.
“We support the mediating efforts which are being made by the Emir of Kuwait… If as part of those efforts or in addition to them all sides think that Russia could also do something useful, we will be ready to respond to such appeals,” Lavrov said, according to the transcript.
Qatar and Turkey have discussed the Gulf crisis and efforts being exerted to defuse the dispute between Doha and a group of Saudi-led Arab states through dialogue and diplomatic means.
This came during a meeting between Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Doha on Monday.
The two sides praised Kuwait mediation to end the row. Erdogan is on a Gulf tour that took him to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The two leaders also discussed Qatar-Turkey joint efforts in the fight against “terrorism and extremism”, according to Qatar’s state news agency.
Saudi Arabia has allowed access to pilgrims from neighbouring Qatar aboard all flights other than Qatar Airways, Qatar’s national carrier.
“Pilgrims from Qatar who have Hajj permits … can come directly from Doha or through any other transit place,” the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said in a statement cited by the official SPA news agency on Sunday.
A Saudi official announced on his Twitter account early on Monday that Qatar-based websites were unblocked in the country because of a technical issue and they will be blocked again in a few hours, according to Turkey’s Anadolu agency.
Saud al-Qahtani, a Saudi royal court adviser, was apparently referring to Al Jazeera and beIN Sports that have been blocked in the country since the beginning of the Gulf crisis.
There was no official statement on the issue.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held a meeting with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah at Dar Salwa Palace which lasted an hour.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has left Saudi Arabia for Kuwait, the mediator in the Gulf crisis.
He will meet with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah later on Sunday.
Erdogan is accompanied by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli, Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar, and National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) head Hakan Fidan.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign affairs chief, on Sunday called for swift direct talks to resolve the Gulf crisis.
Her remark came in a statement after she met Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah and expressed EU support for Kuwait’s “relentless mediation efforts” in the dispute.
Mogherini called on “all the parties to enter into negotiations to agree clear principles and a roadmap for a swift resolution of the crisis”.
She said the EU was ready to support the process of negotiations and assist in the implementation of a plan for the resolution of the crisis, in particular in the area of counterterrorism.
A European human rights organisation has called on Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to end their blockade against Qatar and help alleviate the suffering of citizens on disputing sides.
A 16-member delegation from the Brussels-based Alliance for Freedom and Dignity, AFD, travelled to Doha to investigate and document the humanitarian impact on ordinary citizens resulting from the blockade imposed on Qatar on June 5.
Britain’s government has praised Qatari Emir’s willingness for dialogue to resolve the ongoing diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.
“I welcome the Emir of Qatar’s commitment to combat terrorism in all its manifestations, including terrorist financing,” Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statemen on Sunday.
“The Emir also pledged to resolve the remaining differences with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain through dialogue, negotiation, and Kuwaiti mediation. These steps will help to resolve the dispute,” Johnson added.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman separately on Sunday in the Saudi city of Jeddah on the first leg of his Gulf tour, which will also include Kuwait and Qatar.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with General Joseph Leonard Votel, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), on Sunday in Doha.
According to Qatar’s state news agency, they discussed the ways of increasing their defence cooperation and reviewed joint operations between Qatar and the US in combating terrorism.
General Votel thanked Sheikh Tamim’s pivotal role in this field.
Federica Mogherini has arrived in Kuwait as part of efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis.
She met Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah and other officials on Sunday.
Prolonging the crisis in the Gulf is not in the interest of anyone, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said as he embarked on a visit to the region.
“No-one has any interest in prolonging this crisis any more,” the president said before leaving Istanbul airport. He accused “enemies” of seeking to “fire up tensions between brothers”.
Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, said a call for dialogue by Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was welcome, but it could only happen after Doha had made changes in its policies. He did not specify the required changes.
“Dialogue is necessary and needed but its backbone has to be revision,” Gargash said on his Twitter account.
He expressed disappointment with by Sheikh Tamim’s Friday speech: “I had hoped that the speech of Sheikh Tamim would be an initiative for revision.”
Qatar’s BeIN sports satelite network was broadcasting again on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates, according to subscribers to its channels which have been blocked since the start of a Gulf crisis.
“We are again receiving the network of BeIN sports channels, distributed by Du,” one of two telecommunications companies in the Emirates, one customer told AFP news agency.
Etisalat, a UAE-based telecommunications giant, had also reinstated BeIN sports, according to several subscribers to its channels. Customers were informed of the move in an email from Etisalat.
“We would like to advise that starting 22 July 2017 the BeIN package will be available to customers and normal charges will apply,” the message said. “The provision of the BeIN package will be subject to an ongoing review.”
The spirit of solidarity, harmony and defiance that had prevailed in the people of Qatar frustrated the hopes of those who banked on the opposite.
Qatar is fighting terrorism, relentlessly and without compromises and the international community recognises this.
Differences are resolved through dialogue and negotiation and we should not burden civilians with political differences.
We are opening our economy to initiatives, investments, production of food, medicine and ultimately to diversify our source of income.
We are open to dialogue to find solutions to lingering problems, within the framework of respect for the sovereignty and will of each state as mutual undertakings and joint commitments binding all.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan will embark on a two-day Gulf tour starting on Sunday as part of his efforts to resolve the crisis in the region.
His first stop will be in the Saudi port city of Jeddah, during which he will meet Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has denounced the “malicious smearing campaign” directed against the country in his first address following the blockade.
Sheikh Tamim said Qatar and its people “rose spontaneously defending the sovereignty and independence of the country.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has renewed his call on Arab states to lift the blockade on Qatar, saying the US is satisfied with Doha’s efforts to implement an agreement aimed at combating terror financing.
“They have been very aggressive in implementing that agreement, so I think we’re satisfied with the effort they’re putting forth,” Tillerson told reporters just before meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah at the State Department on Friday.
The United Arab Emirates on Friday welcomed Qatar’s decision to amend its anti-terrorism laws, in one of the first positive signs since sanctions were imposed on Doha in June.
“The Qatari decree to amend the anti-terrorism law is a positive step to deal seriously with the 59 terrorists,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.
Gargash also said the countries’ concerns about Qatar’s relationship with Iran had eased since Kuwait ordered the expulsion of Iranian diplomats for alleged links to a “spy and terror” cell on Thursday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would do his best to solve problems between the “brothers of the Gulf region” as he prepared to visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on July 23-24.
Erdogan has been a staunch ally of Qatar in its dispute with its neighbours. He has criticised a list of demands by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to end sanctions they imposed on Doha.
In a speech in Istanbul, Erdogan said the political problems were temporary and he called on Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other Gulf states to invest in Turkey.
China’s foreign minister has called on Doha and the four Arab countries blockading Qatar to resolve their differences through talks within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), according to Chinese state media.
Wang Yi made the remarks after meeting his Qatari counterpart in Beijing on Thursday, a day after he held talks with a top UAE official.
“All sides should continue restraint and conduct face-to-face talks as soon as possible, so as to avoid escalation of the situation, send out a positive signal in addressing the crisis through political and diplomatic means, and reassure the role of the GCC,” Wang said.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has issued a decree amending some provisions of a law on “combating terrorism”, the state news agency reported.
The decree issued on Thursday included definitions for the terms “terrorist”, “crime”, “terrorist acts”, “terrorist entities”, “the freezing of funds” and the “financing of terrorism”, according to the Qatar News Agency.
Meanwhile at the United Nations, Qatar’s UN ambassador, Alya Ahmed Saif Al Thani, rejected the “baseless accusations” made by Egyptian Deputy UN Ambassador Ihab Awad Moustafa against Doha.
Earlier on Thursday, Moustafa told the UN Security Council that Qatar is adopting a “pro-terrorist” policy that violated UN council resolutions, and said it is “shameful” that the 15-member body had not held Qatar accountable.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior say experts now have evidence showing that the cyberattack on the country’s official media originated from the United Arab Emirates.
During a news conference in Doha on Thursday, officials said the planning for the hacking of Qatar News Agency (QNA) started as early as April.
Investigators also reportedly traced the IP (internet protocol) address linked to the hacking to the UAE. Officials said the case has been referred to prosecutors.
The UAE denies the allegations.
Qatar has presented on Thursday new evidence and technical details “confirming direct contact” from one of the blockading countries, leading to the hacking of the country’s official media.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior said the hackers obtained addresses, passwords and emails of state media staff, using them to carry out the attack against Qatar News Agency and its related media accounts.
Qatar’s foreign minister is visiting Beijing a day after his Chinese counterpart told a top UAE official that China hoped the rift between the Gulf countries could be repaired.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani is expected to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, according to China’s foreign ministry.
Qatar’s Ministry of Interior is set to release a report on Thursday on the hacking of its official Qatar News Agency and government social media accounts.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus called on Saudi Arabia to drop 13 demands it and other Arab states had made of Qatar, saying they represent an infringement on its sovereignty.
Speaking in an interview with the Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcast on Wednesday, Kurtulmus also said: “The UAE must show a stand that is in favour of peace and a settlement and this is in its interest too, otherwise every conflict breeds conflict and no one knows the outcome.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar on July 23-24 as part of efforts to resolve the crisis.
Kurtulmus also said Turkey had no plans to shut its military base in Qatar, where a fresh contingent of troops arrived on Wednesday, saying it was not aimed against any of Qatar’s neighbours.
He also said that Turkey and Qatar were planning to conduct military exercises in coming days and that US forces may join in the exercises.
The US State Department praised Qatar’s “strong partnership” in the fight against “terrorism” in its annual “Country Reports on Terrorism” released on Wednesday.
The State Department said Doha had “maintained a strong partnership in the fight against terrorism in 2016 and collaborated to foster closer regional and international cooperation on counterterrorism, law enforcement and rule of law activities”.
Qatar, it added, has made “significant progress” in combatting terrorist financing but “terrorist financiers within the country are still able to exploit Qatar’s informal financial system”.
The State Department also said that individuals and “entities” in Saudi Arabia had been channelling money out of the country to “terrorist” organisations but that: “Saudi Arabia continued to maintain a strong counterterrorism relationship with the United States”.
The report also mentioned that individuals have made use of the UAE as a financial hub to funnel money out of the country to “terrorist” groups, but that the UAE had increased its counterterrorism prosecutions.
Most Gulf nationals cannot now travel to or from Qatar; breaking up families and business ties, and dealing a blow to cross-border investments, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday.
Businesses say the embargo is causing uncertainty and confusion, and pushing up costs.
Contractors are shifting supply chains from the UAE to Oman, which has remained neutral in the dispute – although many can still move materials from the UAE to Qatar, albeit with extra precautions.
“The crisis has encouraged companies to think about restructuring to keep UAE and Qatar operations separate,” says one diplomat.
Qatari businesses are having to seek alternative sources for some building materials such as aggregate.
Mohammed Saleh’s business distributes building materials across the region – the crisis left Qatar-bound cargo stranded in Dubai. He had to take out a loan to pay his supplier, and lost £30,000: “One minute we are doing business with Qatar, the next we are told we are doing business with terrorist financiers,” he said. “It’s all so confusing.”
A government official in Qatar has called the Saudi-led group’s conduct “dangerous” and “disorganised” after the four Arab nations modified their demands.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Bahrain called on Qatar on Wednesday to commit to six principles on combatting terrorism, instead of the 13 demands they had initially made.
The four countries have regularly issued “conflicting statements and arguments,” he said.
The head of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) said the Saudi government was putting obstacles against Qatari citizens who wished to perform the annual Hajj or Pilgrimage.
Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri said Saudi Arabia is “inciting” its citizens against Qataris. He also said that Gulf states are rebuffing Qatar’s bid to ease humanitarian impact of the blockade.
The Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry has asked local companies to report any loss of earnings caused by the Saudi-led blockade of Doha.
The business lobby said it would use the information “to take appropriate legal measures” to limit damage, and to help companies claim compensation for any losses.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE are urging Qatar to commit to six ‘principles’ on combating “extremism” and “terrorism”, and to negotiate a plan with specific measures to implement them.
Abdallah al-Mouallimi, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN, told reporters on Tuesday that the four countries are now committed to the six principles agreed on by their foreign ministers at a July 5 meeting in Cairo.
Six ‘principles’:
Commitment to combat extremism and terrorism in all their forms and to prevent their financing or providing havens.
Suspending all acts of provocation and speeches inciting hatred or violence.
Full compliance with the Riyadh Agreement of 2013 and the supplementary agreement and its implementation mechanisms of 2014 within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Adherence to all the outcomes of the Arab Islamic American Summit held in May 2017 in Riyadh.
Refraining from interfering in the internal affairs of states and from supporting illegal entities.
The responsibility of all states of the international community to confront all forms of extremism and terrorism as a threat to international peace and security.
Mouallimi also said that the four Arab states believe that stopping incitement to violence is essential, but he said closing Al Jazeera might not be necessary.
“If the only way to achieve that is by closing down Al Jazeera, fine,” he said. “If we can achieve that without closing down Al Jazeera, that’s also fine. The important thing is the objective and the principle involved.”
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed his support for the “efforts in finding a solution to the current crisis in the Gulf”, his office said on Monday.
Sharif met with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Islamabad on Monday to discuss the rift between Doha and four other Arab states.
Another US media organisation is reporting the United Arab Emirates played a role in the hacking of Qatar’s state news agency. The hack led to fake news being posted about the Qatari Emir.
NBC News has cited multiple US intelligence sources confirming a Washington Post article alleging the UAE was behind the attack.
The UAE denies involvement.
Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar’s economy minister, met on Tuesday with the heads of international trade organisations in Geneva to discuss the compensation.
Qatar has contracted a specialised legal team to study the actions taken by the blockading countries against it, according to a statement from the economy ministry.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said divisions in the Gulf region are slowing down the fight against groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).
“Iran is a serious partner for all these countries in fighting our common enemy, because we believe at the end of the day, these extremist forces are as much as threat against us, but even more a threat against them,” Zarif said.
The international football federation has denied reports that there is an effort to strip Qatar of the 2022 World Cup.
Reuters earlier reported that a group of Arab nations have asked FIFA to take action against Qatar. The website designed to look like a Swiss news publication turned out to be fake and Reuters withdrew the story.
Giles Trendle, the acting general manager of Al Jazeera’s English-language service, said the channel is not going anywhere despite demands by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states to close it down.
“Obviously it’s an unusual situation but it’s business as normal … we’re just getting on with our jobs,” Trendle said at London’s iconic Frontline Club on Monday.
In an interview with TRT, al-Attiyah said everyone knew about the Turkish base in Qatar a long time ago.
“Unfortunately, we did not choose the time to attack, besiege and boycott Qatar,” he said.
The Saudi-led group “did choose the time so they cannot come and ask us to close a base where everybody knows about it from a long time back and this is considered a relation between two sovereign state countries”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said divisions in the Gulf region are hampering the fight against what he called “terrorism”.
While speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, he also expressed hope that Iran and Saudi Arabia could one day work together to end the war in Yemen.
Egypt’s foreign ministry has announced the end of visa-free entry for Qataris – the latest measure taken against Doha in the Gulf crisis.
Qatari nationals will now have to apply for a visa in order to enter Egypt, the ministry said on Monday.
“It does not make sense to keep making exceptions for Qatar and giving it privileges in light of its current positions,” said Ahmed Abu Zeid, Egypt’s foreign ministry spokesman.
The restriction will not affect spouses and children of Egyptian nationals, as well as Qatari nationals who are studying at Egyptian public universities, Abu Zeid said.
Fayez Sarraj, the head of Libya’s UN-backed government, told Russia’s Sputnik that resolution of the Gulf crisis would “positively impact the situation in Libya” as the disputing countries have ties with rival forces in his country.
He said he hoped that “this situation between the Arab brothers will be resolved, the crisis will end, and inter-Arab reconciliation will replace it again”.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has told his Kuwait counterpart that Egypt is standing by the list of demands it and three other Arab states made of Qatar and will keep sanctions against Doha in place until the demands are met.
Kuwait’s FM Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah met Shoukry and President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo on Monday.
Sisi told Sabah he appreciated what Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah was doing to preserve Arab unity but that Egypt would not let anyone interfere in its affairs and would stand strong against policies that support terrorism, his spokesman Alaa Youssef said in a statement.
Qatar’s citizens will no longer be able to receive visas upon arrival to Egypt, according to an official source at Cairo International Airport quoted by Egypt’s state-run Ahram Online publication.
The restriction coming into force on Wednesday will not affect spouses and children of Egyptian nationals, as well as Qatari nationals who are studying at Egyptian public universtities, the report said on Monday.
Those affected by the move, including holders of diplomatic or special passports, will have to apply for visas in advance from an Egyptian embassy abroad, said the source on condition of anonymity.
Egypt’s foreign ministry has not issued a statement regarding the changes.
“The State of Qatar has long maintained that its government news agency website was hacked on 24 May and fabricated quotes published. The information published in the Washington Post on 16 July 2017, which revealed the involvement of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and senior Emirati officials in the hacking of Qatar News Agency, unequivocally proves that this hacking crime took place.”
“It is especially unfortunate that this shameful act of cyber terrorism is being attributed to a fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council”.
“This criminal act represents a clear violation and breach of international law and of the bilateral and collective agreements signed between the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as collective agreements with the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the United Nations.”
“The Public Prosecutor will take all necessary legal measures to bring to justice the perpetrators and instigators of this crime, whether in Qatari courts or relevant international jurisdictions specialising in cybercrimes.”
Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs, said his country was not responsible for any alleged hacking of Qatari websites.
Gargash also said the UAE would not escalate its blockade on Qatar by asking companies to choose between doing business with it or Qatar.
“We need a regional solution and international monitoring,” said Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, in prepared remarks he was scheduled to deliver on Monday in London.
“We need to be certain that Qatar, a state with $300bn in reserves, is no longer an official or unofficial sponsor of jihadist and terrorist causes,” he said, giving no further detail on the proposed monitoring. Qatar strongly denies all allegations of supporting “terrorism”.
Gargash said the memorandum of understanding signed by the US and Qatar on Tuesday on the financing of terrorism was a positive development but fell short of allaying their concerns
“We do see signs now, however, that our pressure is working,” Gargash said. “We are ready for this process to take a long time.”
The United Arab Emirates arranged for Qatari government social media and news sites to be hacked in late May in order to post false quotes linked to Qatar’s emir, prompting the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic crisis, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.
The Post reported that US intelligence officials learned last week of newly analysed information that showed that senior UAE government officials discussed the planned hacks on May 23, the day before they occurred.
The officials said it was unclear if the UAE hacked the websites or paid for them to be carried out, the newspaper reported. The Post did not identify the intelligence officials it spoke to for the report.
UAE Ambassador to the US Yousef al-Otaiba denied the report in a statement, saying it was “false”.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called on Sunday for a “de-escalation” in the row between Qatar and four Arab countries, as he held talks in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, a mediator in the crisis.
“It would be preferable if the parties could engage in a process of de-escalation, one that is indispensable so that negotiations can take place in a constructive atmosphere,” Le Drian said in Abu Dhabi.
He held talks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, who is also deputy commander in chief of the UAE’s armed forces.
Abu Dhabi was the last step in a tour of four Gulf nations that began on Saturday and also took Le Drian to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday in Kuwait city, according to Kuwait’s state news agency (KUNA).
Le Drian’s visit is part of his effort to resolve the dispute between Qatar and its neighbours which is mediated by Kuwait.
Toby Kidman, an expert in international law on war crimes, human rights, terrorism and extradition, said on Saturday that there was no legal basis for the blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states and for the list of demands presented by these countries.
Speaking to the Qatari daily Al-Sharq, Kidman said that under the international law the measure was illegal and they were purely punitive.
He said that the next legal step that must be taken by Qatar during the crisis was to join Rome Statute system and the International Criminal Court as a mean to protect itself.
Kidman said that the legal consequences might be stark and the situation might end in the UN Security Council.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has arrived in Kuwait as he continues his efforts to end the Gulf crisis.
Le Drian was in Doha and Saudi Arabia on Saturday and is expected to travel to the United Arab Emirates later on Sunday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met with his Saudi counterpart Adel Jubeir and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah late on Saturday.
“We look for everyone’s determined commitment against terrorism, its support and financing. In this perspective, it is important that GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries should be united, to remain a rampart against instability,” Le Drian said.
Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would present Le Drian with “comprehensive dossiers of the negative acts committed by Qatar over years”, adding that a similar file was given to US State Secretary Rex Tillerson.
Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, the chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), on Saturday met in New York City with Assistant UN Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour.
According to Qatar’s state news agency, Al Marri told Gilmour it was necessary to move swiftly to stop the deterioration of human rights violations that Qatar’s citizens and its residents were being subjected to.
He stressed on the importance of differentiating between humanitarian issues and politics because while the latter can eventually be resolved through diplomacy and mediation, violations of human rights cannot wait for political negotiations.
During his visit to the UN headquarters, Al Marri also held separate meetings with head of diplomatic missions of Switzerland, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ghana, Sweden and Liechtenstein, discussing the Gulf crisis and its implications.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar’s Emir, met Jean-Yves Le Drian, the foreign minister of France, in the Qatari capital Doha on Saturday.
According Qatar’s state news agency, the Gulf crisis topped the agenda of the meeting.
Le Drian also held a meeting with Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and interior minister.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has arrived in Doha on a two-day Gulf tour aimed at easing tensions in the region.
Le Drian is due to meet his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Saturday. He will then travel to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
The French foreign ministry said the trip was in line with similar strategies adopted by the US, Britain and Germany regarding the boycott of Qatar by its neighbours.
“We are going to have a good relationship with Qatar and not going to have a problem with the military base [in Qatar],” Trump said in an interview with CBN News aired on Wednesday.
Qatar is home to the Al-Udeid airbase that holds the forward headquarters of Central Command and hosts around 10,000 American troops.
“If we ever had to leave [the base], we’d have 10 countries willing to build us another one. And they’ll pay for it.”
The British navy vessel “HMS Middleton” arrived in Doha to participate in a joint naval exercise between Qatar’s Emiri Navy and the British Royal Navy in the Qatari territorial waters, according to Qatar’s defence ministry.
The ministry said the exercise came on the basis of prior agreements between the two sides in the framework of bilateral defence cooperation to support efforts of combating terrorism and smuggling as well as to maintain security and stability in the region.
A top Syrian opposition figure on Friday said that the dispute between Qatar and four key Arab countries has had no impact on the “revolution” aimed to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Nasr al-Hariri, the head of the Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee, said the disputes between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have with Qatar amount to “a problem in one family, in one house”.
He said the Syrian opposition has good ties with all the countries.
Speaking to reporters near the end of the latest intra-Syrian peace talks round under UN mediation in Geneva, Al-Hariri said he hoped the disputes “will be resolved soon without any impact on us”.
The White House said that US President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Saudi King Salman on Friday.
The two leaders discussed efforts to resolve the month-long dispute between Qatar and the four Arab states.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday in the Turkish capital of Ankara.
According to Qatar’s state news agency, they discussed the Gulf crisis and bilateral relations among other topics.
Turkey and Qatar on Friday reiterated Ankara would keep a new military base in the Gulf country, rejecting demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies for the facility to be closed.
“No country has the right to raise the issue of the Turkish base or the military cooperation between Qatar and Turkey as long as this cooperation respects international law,” Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters in Ankara.
Speaking after meeting him, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the demands to close the base go against the two countries’ sovereignty.
“A third country has no right to say something to Qatar or Turkey. Everyone must respect this,” he added.
There will be no quick end to the Gulf crisis said the United Arab Emirates’ minister of state for foreign affairs on his official Twitter account on Friday.
“We are headed for a long estrangement … we are very far from a political solution involving a change in Qatar’s course, and in light of that nothing will change and we have to look for a different format of relations,” Anwar Gargash said.
Egyptian coach Hossam el-Badry was fined $10,000 on Thursday by the Confederation of African Football and suspended for one game for refusing to give interviews to Qatar-based beIN Sports network – owned by Al Jazeera – and attempting to boycott a news conference.
El-Badry – coach of Egyptian club Al Ahly – initially refused to attend a news conference following a match on June 20 because of the presence of beIN sports journalists. He did eventually attend, but either put his hand over the beIN microphone while speaking or pushed it away, CAF said.
Following a game in Egypt last weekend against Cameroon’s Coton Sport, el-Badry and Al Ahly players refused all interviews with beIN. The players also boycotted the news conference.
El-Badry’s one-game ban was put on hold, provided he is not found guilty of a similar offence during the remainder of the African Champions League.
Human Rights Watch said the blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies is infringing on the right to free expression, separating families, and interrupting medical care among other rights violations.
“Gulf autocrats’ political disputes are violating the rights of peaceful Gulf residents who were living their lives and caring for their families,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has held a second round of talks with the leaders of Qatar on Thursday, but he left for the US without talking to the press.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has met the Qatari emir and foreign minister for the second time during his four-day visit to the Gulf.
According to Qatar News Agency, the meetings discussed the efforts to solve the Gulf crisis.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is due to make an unexpected return visit to Doha on Thursday, as he tries to help find a solution to the Gulf crisis.
The visit comes a day after he held talks with leaders from the four Arab states blockading Qatar.
In his first trip to Doha on Tuesday, Tillerson told reporters that the Qatari government had “very reasonable” views in the dispute.
“The amount of support for terrorism by Saudi Arabia dwarfs what Qatar’s doing,” said Bob Corker, the Chairman of the US Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday.
“I was really disappointed to see what Saudi Arabia did after having a great summit and bringing everybody together,” he said – referring to the Riyadh summit in May attended by US President Donald Trump. “I think this is quite possibly a rookie mistake by a crown prince who I think could be the future for Saudi Arabia,” added Corker.
Corker made the comments about Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a legislative hearing while addressing the former US ambassador to Israel.
The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will make an unexpected return visit to Doha on Thursday to meet with senior Qatari officials as he tries to find a solution to the Gulf crisis, according to the state department.
It comes after Tillerson held a day of talks with the four Arab states leading a blockade against Doha.
In a letter to the UN, the UAE’s state minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, accused Al Jazeera of having “promoted anti-Semitic violence by broadcasting sermons by the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi”.
The letter – published on Wednesday by the UAE National Media Council – also accused Al Jazeera of “incitement to hostility, violence and discrimination” and lists broadcasting the speeches of slain al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as an example.
The United Nations has warned that demands on Qatar to close Al Jazeera by the Saudi-led group, which includes the UAE, violate basic freedoms.
Foreign ministers of the four Arab countries boycotting Qatar began a meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday, as the US official seeks to find a solution for the Gulf dispute.
The meeting brings together foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt with Tillerson in the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Jeddah, DPA news agency quoted the Saudi-owned TV network Al Arabiya as reporting.
Tillerson arrived in Jeddah earlier Wednesday and held a meeting with King Salman and Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir before the meeting, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
The French government has announced that Foreign Minister Jean-Yes Le Drian will be visiting Qatar as part of efforts to ease the tension in the Gulf.
Reuters reported that Le Drian will also visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates during the trip scheduled on July 15 and 16.
Turkey has sent 197 cargo planes, 16 trucks and one ship to Qatar to meet its daily needs since a dispute broke out last month between Qatar and other Gulf states, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Wednesday.
At a meeting with Zeybekci in the Turkish capital Ankara, Qatar’s economy minister, Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, said Doha’s sea and land trade was continuing without disruption despite the blockade by four Arab states.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to meet Saudi King Salman on Wednesday, before holding talks with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states that have imposed a blockade on Qatar.
The visit to Jeddah follows meetings in Doha with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Qatar’s foreign minister has questioned the timing of the leak of a set of agreements made between Gulf countries between 2013 and 2014 and insisted that his country was abiding by the accords.
After CNN on Monday published a set of documents known as the “Riyadh agreements,” Qatari officials said the leak aimed to weaken mediation efforts in the region.
The documents were published ahead of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s arrival in the Gulf for shuttle diplomacy between Jeddah, Doha and Kuwait City.
“These are clear efforts to diminish … the mediation by Kuwait, and the efforts of the United States to mediate this crisis,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
Qatar said on Tuesday more Turkish troops had arrived at a military base in Doha after Ankara fast-tracked legislation last month for more soldiers to be deployed there.
Training has been ongoing since June 19. The base in Qatar houses Turkish soldiers under an agreement signed in 2014.
“This defence cooperation between Doha and Ankara is part of their common defence vision to support anti-terrorism efforts and maintain security and stability in the region,” a statement by Qatar’s Armed Forces said.
The statement did not give the number of Turkish troops at the base or how many had just joined to bolster the deployment, but said it was the fifth batch of Turkish troops to arrive.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said the agreement on combatting terror funding between Qatar and the US was “insufficient”.
In a joint statement released in their state media, the four Arab states said they would “carefully monitor the seriousness of Qatari authorities” in fighting terrorism financing.
The US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) should kick Qatar out of its operation, the spokesman of Egypt’s foreign ministry said during a coalition meeting held in Washington, DC.
Egyptian foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid, who is the head of the Egyptian delegation in the meeting, said it is “unacceptable” for the coalition “to have among its members states that support terrorism, or advocate for it in their media”.
“The decision by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain to boycott Qatar -a coalition member- is in accordance with that principle,” he said in a statement.
Qatar hosts the largest US military airbase in the Middle East, Al-Udeid, where more than 11,000 US and coalition forces are deployed. The US-led operation is mostly launched from the Al-Udeid military base.
Kuwait’s ruler has described the rift in the Gulf as unprecedented, but said he intended to push ahead with mediation efforts, state news agency KUNA reported.
“His Highness the country’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah … expressed a feeling of bitterness and has been deeply affected by the unprecedented developments that [our Gulf house] is witnessing,” the agency said.
He said the positive reaction and support for Kuwait’s mediation efforts had strengthened his resolve to deal with the crisis.
The Qatari FM and the US secretary of state say Qatar has signed a memorandum of understanding on combatting and financing “terrorism”.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani called the meetings with Rex Tillerson in Doha “very constructive”. He called on the countries blockading Qatar to also sign the MoU.
Tillerson said the US has one goal: “To drive terrorism off the face of the Earth.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet the foreign ministers of the four countries leading the boycott against Qatar in Jeddah on Wednesday. He will then return to Kuwait before heading back to the US.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday it had “reasonable” views in the month-old diplomatic crisis with Arab neighbours.
“I think Qatar has been quite clear in its positions, and I think those have been very reasonable,” Tillerson told reporters.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to hold talks with Qatar’s emir and foreign minister in Doha on Tuesday.
The US State Department said Tillerson would meet with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at 8:30 GMT.
He will then hold talks with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
The Saudi-led bloc has accused Qatar of violating deals it signed in 2013 and 2014 with its Gulf neighbours, which prohibited support for opposition groups in those nations, as well as in Egypt and Yemen.
The existence of the agreements has been known, but the content and the documents, which were obtained by CNN, were never made public.
The Gulf countries have accused Qatar of not complying with the agreements. “It is without doubt that Qatar did not abide by Riyadh Agreements of 2013-2014, violated it and broke promise,” Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said in a statement.
Many of the demands that were recently made to lift the blockade against Qatar were already included in the Riyadh Agreements.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Kuwait urged all parties “to quickly contain the current crisis and resolve it at the earliest through dialogue,” according to a statement reported by the Kuwait state news agency KUNA on Tuesday.
The statement came as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and British National Security Advisor Mark Sedwill visited Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator, in order to resolve the crisis.
“We are trying to resolve an issue that concerns not just us but the whole world,” Kuwait’s ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, told US top diplomat Rex Tillerson.
US officials said Tillerson does not expect an immediate breakthrough, which they warned could be months away. Rather, they said, he wants to explore possibilities for sparking negotiations.
Tillerson is set to met Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah this evening as well as the foreign minister and the British national security adviser who is also in Kuwait for consultations on the Gulf crisis.
The NHRC says it will forward all complaints received from victims to the Compensation Committee.
The North Oil Company, to be launched on Tuesday, will be made up of a 70 percent stake from QP and a 30 percent stake from Total, which is taking over operations from Maersk Oil. The launch comes amid the worst crisis to hit Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, in years.
The signing of the contract also comes amid reports that Saudi Arabia and the UAE may pressure international companies to either do business with them or with Qatar.
In a statement today, al-Sada said that exports to the four Asian countries accounted for nearly three quarters of the country’s total exports.
Exports to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain accounted for less than eight percent, the statement said.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is set to arrive in Kuwait today to help seek a resolution for the Gulf crisis.
In a statement, the US state department said that Tillerson will “meet with senior Kuwait officials to discuss the ongoing efforts to resolve the Gulf dispute”.
Qatar has $340bn in reserves including holdings of its sovereign wealth fund that could help the Gulf country to weather the isolation by its powerful Arab neighbours, central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al Thani told CNBC.
“This is the credibility of our system, we have enough cash to preserve any…kind of shock,” he said.
Al Thani said the central bank has $40bn in reserves plus gold, while the Qatar Investment Authority has $300bn in reserves that it could liquidate.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and the country’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Sunday held a meeting in Doha with Fatou Bensouda, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Among other topics, they discussed the Gulf crisis and the illegal anti-Qatar steps taken by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states.
For her part, Bensouda expressed regret over the human rights violations committed by the quartet that imposed air, sea and land blockade against Qatar.
She praised Qatar’s mature way of dealing with the crisis.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, the chairman of Qatar Chamber, said that the unjust siege imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies on Qatar did not affect the country’s market as much as it hit the companies of those countries who lost the Qatari market.
He said that Qatar was able to immediately secure its needs of all kinds of goods by importing them from alternative countries at the same cost and with better quality.
Sheikh Khalifa highlighted the recent launch of direct shipping lines with Salalah and Sohar ports in Oman, Mundra and Nhava Sheva ports in India and the Turkish port of Izmir from which the first ship carrying about 3,000 tons of miscellaneous foodstuffs arrived last week.
Qatari Public Prosecutor Ali Al Marri said in a press conference that the government is forming a committee to handle claims made by private companies, public institutions and individuals of damages stemming from the blockade.
Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, has met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at Al Bahr palace in Doha.
Among other topics, the two discussed the Gulf crisis as well as ways to enhance counter-terrorism cooperation between Qatar and the UK, according to Qatar’s state news agency.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has arrived in Qatar’s capital in an effort to mediate in the Gulf crisis.
He was met late on Saturday by Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised the sanctions against Qatar at a news conference on Saturday after the G20 meeting in Hamburg.
He said that allegations against Qatar are unfair and provocation in the Gulf region should be avoided.
Erdogan stressed that the countries involved in the standoff should work towards a reasonable solution of the conflict.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrived in Kuwait on Saturday to support the country’s mediation in the Gulf dispute.
Johnson planned to meet Kuwait’s foreign minister and other senior leaders, following talks on Friday with officials from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, his office said.
“The UK strongly supports Kuwait’s mediation efforts and the foreign secretary will pay tribute to the work of the Emir of Kuwait,” it said in a statement.
Johnson’s talks in Kuwait would be followed by similar meetings with senior leaders in Qatar later on Saturday.
The head of Qatar’s main commercial port has said that it is operating “at full capacity” but that it has not seen an increase in traffic after the beginning of the blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies.
Abdulaziz Nasser Al-Yafei, Hamad Port director, said on Friday that the only change was that the Doha-bound ships were transiting through two Omani ports, rather than the Emirati Jebel Ali port – a regional hub.
A source at Qatar’s foreign ministry said that accusations from the Saudi-led anti-Qatar quartet regarding financing “terrorism” and interference in internal affairs of other countries amount to defamation.
“The State of Qatar is an active member committed to combating terrorism and its financing at regional and international levels. The international community attests to that,” said the source.
National Human Rights Committee in Qatar has submitted a report to UNESCO detailing the violations committed by educational institutions against Qatari students in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
NHRC Chairman Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri said that violations against students included preventing them from taking final exams, withholding certificates of graduation, closing their educational accounts and arbitrarily terminating their registration without giving reasons.
Boris Johnson arrived in Saudi Arabia on Friday as part of a tour that will also take him to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in a bid to help ease Gulf tension.
“The Foreign Secretary will urge all parties to get behind Kuwait’s mediation efforts, which the UK strongly supports, and work towards de-escalation and Gulf unity for the sake of regional stability,” the foreign office said in a statement.
The statement also said that Johnson will discuss security and bilateral issues with a “particular focus on working together to address the common threats of extremism, radicalisation and terrorism.”
The Central Bank of Oman ordered all local commercial banks and exchange companies to trade the Qatari riyal at the official exchange rate.
“The Central Bank of Oman will also accept Qatari riyals and provide exchange services if needed,” the bank said in a statement.
Qatar’s Finance Minister Ali Sharif al-Emadi said that his country is rich enough to withstand threats of bloackade.
James Mattis, the US defence secretary, has reaffirmed the US’ strategic security partnership with Qatar, the Pentagon said, amid a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
Qatar hosts a vital US-led command center at the Al-Udeid air base, where the anti-ISIL coalition launches raids against the armed group.
A US State Department statement late on Thursday said that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will be travelling to Kuwait on Monday to discuss efforts to resolve the Gulf crisis.
Tillerson would visit Kuwait City following visits to Ukraine and Turkey and is expected to meet Kuwaiti officials who have been trying to mediate.
In a joint statement released late on Thursday, the Saudi-led group blamed Qatar for “continuing to seek to sabotage and undermine the security and stability in the Gulf region”.
“All political, economic and legal measures will be taken in the manner and at the time deemed appropriate to preserve the four countries’ rights, security and stability,” the statement said.
The US State Department warned that the Gulf crisis could “possibly even intensify”, Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the state department, said on Thursday.
“We remain very concerned about that ongoing situation between Qatar and GCC countries.”
“President Donald Trump met Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hamburg, Germany, to coordinate on key policy areas ahead of Friday’s G20 summit,” a White House press release said.
“The leaders conferred on a range of shared foreign and security policy priorities, including … de-escalating the conflict between Qatar and some of its Gulf and Arab neighbors.”
Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al Attiyah held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Thursday.
Attiyah discussed the Gulf crisis with Mattis and reiterated Qatar’s backing for the efforts of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to reach a resolution of the dispute through constructive dialogue, according to Qatar’s state news agency.
He also expressed Qatar’s appreciation for the US supportive stance for regional stability, stressing the depth of cooperation between the two countries in terms of combating and rejecting terrorism and violent extremism.
Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, held a phone conversation with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, discussing the dispute with Qatar.
The foreign ministry of Egypt said Shoukry reiterated his country’s rejection of Qatar’s “support of terrorism” – the allegation that Doha denies.
The US state department has warned that the Gulf crisis between Qatar and its neighbors is at an impasse and could potentially drag on for weeks or even months.
The United States believes the crisis could “possibly even intensify” said on Thursday Heather Nauert, the spokeswoman for the state department.
Nauert did not specify what type of escalation the US fears. But she said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson remains in close contact with the countries involved.
The US is praising Kuwait for trying to mediate a resolution, she said.
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki has said he believed that besieging Qatar is the last weapon at the disposal of regimes that have been trying for years to limit Qatar’s role and prevent it from being a political player.
In an interview with Qatari daily Al Sharq published on Thursday, Marzouki said those who wanted to isolate Qatar were exposed and have themselves become isolated.
Marzouki said Qatar is on the right side and the whole world supports it and trusts its ability to withstand the crisis, stressing that the Arab peoples sympathise with Qatar and the vast majority of countries, particularly African ones, are on Qatar’s side.
He said the battle against Qatar won’t be the last, noting that other battles are “on the horizon and no one knows what third or fourth siege will hit any country” where a new Arab political regime rises.
Saudi Arabia, which is leading a four-country blockade of Gulf neighbour Qatar, on Thursday accused Doha of being behind over 23,000 Twitter accounts it blames for trying to stoke dissent in Saudi Arabia.
“We found over 23,000 Twitter accounts driven by Qatar, some of them linked to accounts calling for ‘revolution’ in Saudi Arabia,” Information Minister Awwad Saleh al-Awwad told AFP news agency during a visit to Paris.
A month after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic, trade and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing terrorism, it is suffering from isolation but is nowhere near an economic crisis, the Reuters news agency reports.
The alliance against it, meanwhile, may not have options to inflict further damage.
As the world’s top liquefied natural gas exporter, Qatar is so rich – at $127,660, its gross domestic product per capita in purchasing power terms is the highest of any country, according to the International Monetary Fund – it can deploy money to counter almost any type of sanction.
In the past month, it has arranged new shipping routes to offset the closure of its border with Saudi Arabia, deposited billions of dollars of state money in local banks to shore them up, and drawn the interest of some of the West’s biggest energy firms by announcing a plan to raise its LNG output 30 percent.
The success of these initiatives suggests Qatar could weather months or years of the current sanctions if it has the political will to do so – and that further sanctions being contemplated by the alliance may not prove decisive.
Three of the West’s biggest energy corporations are lobbying Qatar to take part in a huge expansion of its gas production, handing Doha an unintended but timely boost in its dispute with Gulf Arab neighbours.
The chief executives of ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and France’s Total all met Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Doha before it announced a plan on Tuesday to raise output of liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 30 percent.
Company and industry sources told Reuters news agency that the CEOs had expressed interest in helping Qatar with its ambition to produce 100 million tonnes of LNG annually – equivalent to a third of current global supplies – in the next five to seven years.
Spokespeople from all three firms declined comment. However, a top executive from one energy major looking into expanding in Qatar said the huge business opportunity was worth the considerable political risk.
Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, met with the United Nations undersecretary general Jeffrey Feltman in Doha.
During the meeting, Feltman expressed the UN’s concern about the continuation of the Gulf crisis. He also stressed UN support of the Kuwaiti mediation efforts to solve the crisis.
Germany’s foreign minister says his country’s intelligence service will participate in efforts to clear up accusations by Arab neighbours that Qatar supports “terror groups”.
Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk radio Thursday there was an agreement for Qatar to “open all its books” to Germany’s intelligence service “if we have questions about certain people or structures”.
The minister said he no longer sees the risk of a military escalation in the standoff despite an angry reaction on Wednesday from the four Arab nations to Qatar’s response to their demands. Gabriel said that, while the reaction sounded harsh, many demands were no longer mentioned.
Al Jazeera’s Senior Political Analyst Marwan Bishara projects scenarios on the ongoing Gulf crisis.
There are limited choices for the four countries that are blockading Qatar as the military option appears to be off the table and diplomatic pressure on Qatar will split the Gulf Cooperation Council, he says.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has underlined his country’s support for Qatar and its anger at the demand for the closure of a Turkish military base in Doha. He said the demand shows “a lack of respect toward us and Qatar”.
Erdogan told the German weekly Die Zeit on Wednesday that “what is being done with Qatar runs counter to international law”.
Four Arab states imposing a partial blockade against Qatar have voiced “regret” over Doha’s “negative reply” to their demands, according to a joint statement.
The statement was issued after the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain met in Cairo.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said at a joint press conference that further steps against Qatar will be taken at the appropriate time in line with the international law.
He added that economic boycott against Qatar will remain until the country changes its policies for the better.
The minister also said he hoped that Turkey remained neutral in the crisis, while he called Iran “the biggest supporter of terrorism”.
US President Donald Trump has called Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss the ongoing dispute between Qatar and its Arab neighbours, according to the White House.
Trump urged Egypt and other countries that imposed a blockade on Qatar “to negotiate constructively to resolve the dispute”.
Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah met on Wednesday with the visiting German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel.
The foreign minister lauded Germany’s support of Kuwait’s mediation in resolving the regional crisis. For his part Gabriel reiterated his country’s support of Kuwait, while urging restraint in order to reach a solution that satisfies all parties.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, said his country is going to do “whatever it takes to protect our people”, even as he urges more dialogue to resolve the crisis.
Sheikh Mohammed said that whatever Saudi Arabia and its allies take against Qatar should be based in international law.
“The four countries have received the Qatari response via Kuwait before the end of the additional deadline, which came at the request of HH Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait,” said Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt in a joint statement on Wednesday.
“Qatar will receive a reply in due time,” added the statement, which was reported by the Saudi News Agency.
Heads of intelligence from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain held a meeting in Cairo on Tuesday, Egyptian state news agency MENA said.
MENA, citing “informed sources”, did not provide details of the meeting, which took place one day before foreign ministers from the four countries were due to meet to discuss the Gulf dispute.
Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, unexpectedly attended a summit of African Union (AU) leaders in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa.
When asked about Jubeir’s visit, Alpha Conde, the AU chairperson, insisted the Saudi diplomat’s trip was not an attempt to shore up support for a Saudi-led embargo against Qatar.
“No, he didn’t come here to discuss the crisis in the GCC,” Conde said, using an acronym for the Gulf Cooperation Council. “He came to discuss cooperation because Africa is against financing terrorism. We want to eradicate all sorts of terrorism. This is why we said we will cooperate with Kuwait in mediating this [Gulf] crisis.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, said “the fight against terrorism” is “a top priority” for his country.
“It is an issue of national security, not only to the state of Qatar but to the entire region,” he told reporters in Qatar’s capital, Doha, after a meeting with Sigmar Gabriel, his German counterpart.
“However, the unjust siege imposed by the other states under the pretext of combating terrorism is totally false and fabricated,” he added
The Qatari diplomat also said that the demands put to Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies were impossible to meet.
“The list is unrealistic and is not actionable,” he said. “It’s not about terrorism, it’s talking about shutting down the freedom of speech.”
The foreign minister of Germany praised Qatar’s “restraint” in responding to a blockade imposed by Arab states amid the worst regional diplomatic crisis in years.
“There are boundaries that you should not cross, that the sovereignty of each of country and the respect of this national sovereignty has to be there,” Sigmar Gabriel told reporters in the Qatari capital, Doha, after a meeting with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
“It has to be a basic condition and when that is there, even the most difficult questions can be talked about,” added Gabriel, concluding a tour of the Gulf region, which also included stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Aran Emirates.
Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s foreign minister, is visiting Qatar as part of a Gulf tour to resolve the regional diplomatic crisis.
He is talking to journalists along with his Qatari counterpart, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, in Qatar’s capital, Doha. Here are some excerpts from the press conference.
German FM: Gulf disunity could weaken entire region
German FM: Sovereignty of all nations needs to be respected
German FM: Best solution to Gulf crisis is deal to end support for armed groups
German FM: There are plenty of ways to prevent the crisis escalating
Qatar FM: We are fully prepared to engage in dialogue and examine grievances
Qatar FM: Enough with the smear campaign and false accusations
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahayan said that the Arab countries blockading Qatar were still waiting for a response to their demands via mediator Kuwait.
“I think it is premature to talk about extra sanctions … this depends on what we will hear from our brothers in Kuwait,” the foreign minister said at a press conference with his German counterpart in Abu Dhabi.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the entire Gulf region has the opportunity to strengthen the fight against “terrorism funding”.
Gabriel is meeting officials in Abu Dhabi, before travelling to Doha to meet Qatar’s foreign minister later on Tuesday.
The CEO of state-run Qatar Petroleum has said the company “will not be affected by the siege”.
Saad al-Kaabi was speaking at a press conference on Tuesday where he announced the company would be increasing its natural gas output by 30 percent by 2024.
In a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, British Prime Minister Theresa May urged “all sides” of the ongoing crisis to “take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and restore [GCC] unity”, her office said in a statement on Monday.
The statement also said that the “UK remains committed to supporting this process.”
The two leaders stressed the need to resolve the Gulf crisis through dialogue and diplomatic means, as well as back the mediation efforts of Kuwait, Qatar News Agency said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said that he hopes Qatar will respond positively to a list of demands put forth by his country and other Arab states.
“We hope for a positive response to be able to resolve the crisis,” he said from the Saudi city of Jeddah during a press conference with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel.
Jubeir also said that Qatar’s response will be “examined with precision”.
The talks between the two foreign ministers focused on “the necessity of putting an end to the support for terrorism, extremism, and calls for hate and interference in the affairs of others”, Jubeir said.
Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s foreign minister, said he did not have the impression that the Arab states that have cut ties with Doha were questioning the sovereignty of Qatar.
He was speaking at a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir in the Saudi city of Jeddah, during a tour of the Gulf region.
Numan Kurtulmus, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, says the ongoing crisis in the Gulf has nothing to do with the Turkish military base in Qatar.
“Turkey’s military base in Qatar is not just for Qatar’s security, but for the security of the whole [Gulf] area. Turkey has a base there as part of the area’s safety. The presence of Turkish soldiers will remain,” he told reporters following a cabinet meeting in the capital, Ankara.
“Linking the [Gulf] crisis with the Turkish base is wrong. The tension and dispute between the Gulf countries is completely irrelevant [to the base].”
Alpha Conde, the chairperson of the African Union and president of Guinea, has called for a peaceful end of the Gulf diplomatic dispute.
Conde was speaking at the opening of the 29th African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital, Adis Ababa.
He also said Africans must have one voice about the crisis.
Former CIA director and retired general David Petraeus has said Qatar hosted delegations from both Hamas and the Taliban at the “request” of the US.
“Our partners should remember that Qatar – at our request – welcomed delegations from the Taliban and Hamas, and that Qatar is now home to our military headquarters for our operations throughout the Middle East,” Petraeus told French newspaper Journal du Dimanche.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has arrived in Kuwait to hand over the state’s response to the 13 demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE.
The response will be the focus of a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday of foreign ministers from the four countries that have cut ties with Qatar.
US President Donald Trump spoke separately to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Sunday to discuss his “concerns about the ongoing dispute” between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours.
Trump also underscored that unity in the region is critical to accomplishing the Riyadh Summit’s goals of defeating “terrorism” and promoting regional stability, the White House said.
US President Donald Trump rang the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Sunday night, reported the Qatar News Agency (QNA). The phone call dealt with the latest developments of the GCC crisis and its implications in the region.
The call also reviewed the American position, as well as international stances regarding the crisis, which call for dialogue and diplomacy in order to maintain the security and stability of the region, reported the QNA.
The two sides also stressed the importance of continuing their efforts and support to regional and international efforts for combatting “terrorism” and “extremism” in all its forms, regardless of its source or motives.
The two sides also reviewed the strategic bilateral ties between the two nations and the means to enhance and develop them.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who on Monday starts a tour of several Arab states, called for “serious dialogue” to end the Gulf crisis.
“We are worried that the distrust and the disunity could weaken all the parties concerned as well as the entire peninsula,” said Gabriel, who will visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
Gabriel called for a “serious dialogue between the parties” to resolve the crisis, adding that while Berlin was “not taking sides, the conflict… affects both us and our interests.”
Saudi Arabia and three allies boycotting Qatar have agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday’s deadline for Doha to comply to a set of demands, according to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.
Kuwait had received a response by Qatar to list of 13 demands imposed on it by a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries, state news agency KUNA said on Monday.
After more than two weeks, the four countries gave Doha a 10-day ultimatum, which expired on Sunday night, to comply with a 13-point demand list in exchange for the end of the anti-Qatar measures.
Kuwait has received a response by Qatar to list of 13 demands imposed on it by a Saudi-led bloc of Arab countries, state news agency KUNA said on Monday, but has asked those countries to extend a deadline for compliance by forty-eight more hours.
Without stating whether Qatar had rejected the ultimatum as was widely expected, KUNA said Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah asked Saudi Arabia and three other countries that have boycotted Qatar to grant it an extension. Kuwait is mediating in the crisis.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain will meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the Gulf diplomatic crisis.
“At the invitation of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, there will be a quartet meeting of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in Cairo on Wednesday July 5 to follow up on the developing situation regarding relations with Qatar,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement.
The four Arab countries cut diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting “terrorism” and being an ally of regional rival Iran, charges that Doha denies.
The defence minister of Qatar says the country is ready to defend itself if necessary.
Khalid Al Attiyah made the comments in an interview with Sky News.
“Qatar is not an easy country to be swallowed by anyone. We are ready. We stand ready to defend our country,” he said.
Qatar’s foreign minister will meet Kuwait’s emir on Monday to give him Doha’s response to a list of demands submitted to it, according to state-run media.
Qatar News Agency (QNA) said on Sunday that Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the foreign minister of Qatar, will meet the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah on Monday.
“[The foreign minister] will hand over a written message from HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The message is about the reply prepared earlier by the State of Qatar on the list of collective demands submitted by the State of Kuwait at the end of last month,” QNA said.
The US ambassador to Kuwait has called for a “fair” solution to the Gulf dispute.
In a statement on Sunday, Lawrence R Silverman reiterated the US support for Kuwaiti efforts to mediate a solution to the crisis.
Giles Trendle, the acting managing director of Al Jazeera English, said on Saturday that the Doha-based media network would not be closing despite demands by Saudi Arabia and its allies.
“We stand strong and we will continue to do what we do, which is reporting the world frankly and fairly,” he said.
The Qatari National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and a Swiss law firm, Lalive, signed a contract in Geneva on Saturday to investigate thousands of cases of human rights violations from a Saudi-led blockade on Qatar and seek compensation.
Lalive, which specialises in mass claims, said it will pursue the cases in local and international tribunals.
“The sanctions imposed on Qatar go too far and are not in accordance with international law. Ordinary Qatari nationals and companies are not part of the State and cannot be targeted,” Veijo Heiskanen, the lead lawyer on the case, told Al Jazeera.
“A political dispute between States does not justify sanctions against private citizens, companies and other private entities. The Qatar National Committee for Human Rights is therefore justified to pursue these claims,” he said.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at the news conference in the Italian capital of Rome on Saturday that the list of demands issued by Saudi Arabia and its allies “was meant to be rejected”.
“Everyone is aware that these demands are meant to infringe the sovereignty of the state of Qatar, shut the freedom of speech and impose an auditing and probation mechanism for Qatar,” he said.
“The blockading countries have disrespected the international law, disrespected the world order.”
“Qatar has dealt with this matter in a very mature and responsible way while the escalation has continued from the other countries.”
He argued strongly for a dialogue and negotiations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stressed the importance of diplomacy to end a dispute between Qatar and four other Arab states during a telephone call with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
The Kremlin said in a statement the Russian and Qatari leaders also discussed cooperation between their countries in energy and investment.
Vladimir Putin discussed the Gulf crisis with Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in a telephone call, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
Putin stressed the need for direct dialogue between all governments involved in the dispute, which is exerting a negative influence on the Middle East, the Kremlin said.
Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah met with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday in Ankara.
Erdogan has rejected the demand of Saudi Arabia and its allies for an end to Turkish troop presence in Doha, calling it “disrespectful” and saying that Turkey would not seek permission from others over its defence cooperation agreements.
Turkey says the Turkish troop deployment to Qatar aims to enhance regional security and is not aimed against any specific country.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair said on Saturday that a 13-point list of demands given to Qatar to end the gulf rift were “non-negotiable”.
“Demands on Qatar to stop funding terrorism are non-negotiable,” the Jubair said on the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s official Twitter account. “Restrictions on Qatar show zero tolerance for terrorism.”
Qatar’s foreign minister has asked members of the United Nations Security Council to urge a Saudi-led bloc of states to lift their blockade on the Gulf country, nearly one month after it began.
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday met with non-permanent members of the Security Council at the Qatari mission to the UN in the US state of New York, urging them to speak out publicly on his country’s behalf.
Al Thani told Al Jazeera he gave them “updates on the situation” and urged “all of them to call for a lifting of the blockade on Qatar”.
Qatar was “trying to encourage all the parties to enter a serious dialogue to try to put an end to this,” the foreign minister said.
Turkey has said that the rights of Qatar should be respected in resolving an escalating dispute between Doha and its neighbours.
“The current issues between the [Gulf] countries, who are brothers, must be resolved soon on the basis of a sincere dialogue and respect for Qatar’s rights,” Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik said during a meeting with his Qatari counterpart Khaled bin Mohammed al-Attiyah in Ankara on Friday.
Trade restrictions imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE are justified by national security, Bahrain’s representative told a World Trade Organisation meeting on Friday, a trade official who attended the meeting said.
Speaking on behalf of all three countries, the Bahraini diplomat at the WTO’s Goods Council said the measures were “in accordance with Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade”, which allows the usual rules to be broken for national security reasons, the official said.
It is extremely rare, perhaps unprecedented, in the WTO’s 22-year history for a country to explicitly and formally cite the “national security exemption” to pre-empt a potential trade dispute.
Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah held talks with his Turkish counterpart Fikri Isik on Friday in Turkey’s capital Ankara.
A spokeswoman for Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group said: “This currency is no longer available for sale or buy-back across our high-street banks including Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland and Halifax.”
Tesco Bank said it had halted dealings in the riyal, while Barclays stopped trading riyals for retail customers but continued the service for corporate customers, a source said.
Royal Bank of Scotland said it had stopped trading riyals for retail customers.
A spokeswoman for HSBC said on Friday that the bank was still providing riyals for high street customers.
Khaled al-Attiyah, Qatar’s defence minister, told the London-based Al-Araby Al-Jadeed newspaper on Friday that a blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies on Doha was “a bloodless declaration of war”.
He described the relationship with the US as “strategic” and discussed the status of the US airbase in Qatar.
“The closure of the Udeid Air Base in Qatar is absolutely out of the question,” Al-Attiyah said.
He went on to dismiss all accusations about Qatar’s support for terrorism, saying the claims aiming to “demonise Qatar”.
A demand by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab nations for Qatar to close down Al Jazeera is an “unacceptable attack” on the right to freedom of expression and opinion, the United Nations human rights chief said on Friday.
UN High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein is “extremely concerned by the demand that Qatar close down the Al Jazeera network, as well as other affiliated media outlets”, his spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.
“Whether or not you watch it, like it, or agree with its editorial standpoints, Al Jazeera’s Arabic and English channels are legitimate, and have many millions of viewers. The demand that they be summarily closed down is, in our view, an unacceptable attack on the right to freedom of expression and opinion,” Colville said.
Qatar’s ministry of defence has announced the arrival of a new group of Turkish armed forces to the military base where Turkey began its training mission last week.
The forces are set to take part in joint exercises within the framework of a defence agreement signed between Doha and Ankara aimed at raising Qatar’s defence capabilities, supporting “counterterror” efforts, and maintaining security and stability in the region.
Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah arrived on Thursday in Ankara where he is scheduled to meet with his Turkish counterpart Fikri Ishik as well as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) urges the Saudi-led bloc to drop its demand to shut media outlets funded by Qatar as a condition to lift the blockade against it.
In a letter directed to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, the CPJ stressed it was not taking sides in the diplomatic dispute in the Gulf.
The CPJ, an independent organisation that promotes press freedom worldwide, said the demand to close the outlets, including Al Jazeera, showed “clear contempt for the principle of press freedom”.
Qatar Central Bank (QCB) says it will guarantee all exchange transactions for customers inside and outside the country without delay, adding that all banks and foreign exchange companies are committed to trading the riyal as usual.
The statement came after media reports said some exchange companies have stopped buying the Qatari riyal, which the central bank called “baseless”.
“Qatari riyal’s exchange rate is absolutely stable against the US dollar, and its exchange ability inside and outside Qatar is guaranteed at any time at the official price,” QCB said.
Qatar is willing to work together with other Gulf countries blockading it in order to reach a resolution to the Gulf dispute, its foreign minister has said, stressing, however, that his country will not discuss any measures that impinge on its sovereignty.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made the comments on Washington, DC, on Thursday, the last day of a visit to the United States where he had been holding a series of key meetings aimed at resolving the crisis.
“The response of Qatar has been purposefully measured, yet unequivocal. We are willing to negotiate any legitimate grievances with our neighbours, but we will not compromise our sovereignty,” he said, calling the “siege” on Qatar “a clear act of aggression” that violated international law.
He also hit back at comments made by Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, who on Tuesday said that there would be no negotiations over a list of demands presented by the Saud-led bloc to end the crisis.
“Using the terminologies of demands and non-negotiable, I don’t think this is a civilised way to engage in solving a crisis,” Qatar’s foreign minister said.
The representative of Qatar at the World Trade Organization (WTO) says his country is considering launching a complaint at the global trade body against the blockade imposed against it by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.
“We are exploring all possible legal avenues, including, but not limited to, the (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body,” Ali Alwaleed al-Thani, director of Qatar’s WTO office, told the Reuters news agency.
On the last day of a trip to the United States, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, has spoken about the crisis in the Gulf. Here are some excerpts from his speech in the Arab Center in Washington, DC:
“Qatar has a good record of combating and countering terrorism.”
“Qatar has taken steps against funds going to terrorist organisations.”
“The US can verify that Qatar has not supported terrorism.”
“Qatar’s response has been measured but unequivocal.”
“The demands are an effort to undermine our sovereignty.”
“Siege is a violation of international law and against sovereignty.”
“The GCC is supposed to provide safety and stability in the region.”
“Al Jazeera’s professionalism will not be compromised.”
“Iran is our neighbour, must have constructive relationship.”
A decision by influential US Senator Bob Corker to block the approval of future US arms sales to Gulf countries could give Washington “a new tool” for resolving a “dangerous dispute” between a Saudi-led bloc of countries and Qatar, the Editorial Board of the New York Times said on Wednesday.
As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Corker plays a central role in allowing or withholding US weapons sales.
The Tennessee Republican on Monday said in a letter to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that “recent disputes” among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries undermine efforts “to fight” ISIL and “counter Iran”. He said that approval of future arms sales would be held up until there is a clear path for settling the major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
“This would give Mr Tillerson a new tool for resolving the crisis, though the impact may not be immediate,” the Board wrote in an opinion piece titled “A Way out of the Qatar Mess”.
National carrier Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport in the Qatari capital of Doha reported an exceptionally high volume of traffic during the Eid-al Fitr holiday period despite regional travel restrictions imposed by neighbouring countries amid the Gulf crisis.
“In the past seven days, 510,949 passengers have flown from Hamad International Airport on board more than 2,900 flights. During the peak Eid-al Fitr holiday period, June 22-24, 49,794 of those passengers were joining flights directly from Doha,” said Qatar Airways boss Akbar Al Baker.
Hamad International Airport officials said the total number of passengers travelling on all airlines, including Qatar Airways, in June 19-25 reached 580,000.
Hamad International Airport recently reported that it served 19 million passengers from January to June 2017, 8 percent up compared with the same period in 2016.
The defence ministers of Turkey and Qatar will hold talks in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Friday, according to a report by Turkey’s Anadolu state-run news agency.
The meeting between Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik and his Qatari counterpart, Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, will take place in the defence ministry, sources who could not be identified due to restrictions on speaking to the media told Anadolu.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said that the Gulf crisis is “an opportunity” to influence both Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Haley was testifying before the House Foreign Affairs committee on Wednesday when she was asked about her take on the crisis in the Gulf amid conflicting statements made by members of the Trump administration.
She said it was a good time to tell Qatar to “quit funding Hamas … but at the same time, go back to Saudi Arabia and say, look, you can talk to them [the Qataris] … you got to cut this out, you’ve got to stop doing this.”
Haley added that it was “an opportunity to sort of hit on both of them”.
UAE’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has urged Qatar to “return to the GCC fold” in a poem he published on his Instagram account.
“Now it is time to get united and be one heart and protect each other without grudges or hatred,” he wrote in Arabic.
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed concern about the repercussions of the Gulf crisis, noting that the demands of the four countries were harsh.
In a telephone conversaiton with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Abe also stressed Japan’s support for Kuwaiti mediation and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.
Migrants from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal employed to work as farmers and domestic staff in Saudi Arabia are stranded without shelter and access to money after a decision by the kingdom to expel their Qatari bosses, according to a human rights group.
“There are a lot of migrant workers affected by this decision,” Ali Bin Smaikh al-Marri, chairman of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee, told a news conference in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Marri said that many of those affected were farmers who drive livestock between the two neighbouring countries.
“Usually the workers travel with Qataris – many Qataris employ farmers and travel with their domestic workers and drivers,” he added. “The workers were not allowed to travel into Qatar and now they are living illegally in Saudi Arabia and do not have basic needs met. They have no shelter and cannot access money.”
Qatar’s National Human Rights Commission says it will employ a Swiss law firm to seek compensation for those affected by a decision of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to cut ties with Doha and impose a blockade against it.
“The three countries are responsible to compensate those affected,” Marri told a news conference, adding that many Qataris qualified for compensation.
“Some cases will be filed in courts in those three countries and in some courts that have international jurisdictions, like in Europe, related to compensation.”
Marri did not say which Swiss firm would be employed, but said a statement would be released in the near future.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has issued a new call for a diplomatic resolution to the Gulf crisis after a meeting with Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s minister of state for cabinet affairs and acting minister of information.
The US diplomat also renewed Washington’s support for Kuwait’s mediation efforts to defuse the crisis.
“During the meeting the leaders reaffirmed the need for all parties to exercise restraint to allow for productive diplomatic discussions.,” read a statement issued by the US State Department after the talks in Washington, DC.
“Negotiations to resolve the current crisis in the Gulf is the best way to resolve the conflict,” the statement added.
A United Nations media rights expert has rejected the demand of a Saudi-led group of countries to close Al Jazeera, saying it would be “a major blow to media pluralism”.
David Kaye, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said in a statement that the demand “represents a serious threat to media freedom if states, under the pretext of a diplomatic crisis, take measures to force the dismantling of Al Jazeera”.
Kaye also called on “the international community to urge these governments not to pursue this demand against Qatar, to resist taking steps to censor media in their own territory and regionally, and to encourage support for independent media in the Middle East”.
Asked if he believed the closure of Al Jazeera was a “reasonable demand” by Saudi Arabia and its allies, the UAE’s ambassador to Russia told The Guardian newspaper: “We do not claim to have press freedom. We do not promote the idea of press freedom. What we talk about is responsibility in speech.”
Omar Ghobash also said: “Freedom of speech has different constraints in different places. Speech in our part of the world has a particular context, and that context can go from peaceful to violent in no time simply because of worlds that are spoken.
The UAE’s ambassador to Russia has said expelling Qatar from the GCC is “not the only sanction available”.
Omar Ghobash, speaking to The Guardian newspaper, said there are “certain economic sanctions” the UAE and its allies can take which “are being considered right now”. He said among these was imposing “conditions on trade partners”.
He added: “If Qatar was not willing to accept the demands, it is a case of ‘Goodbye, Qatar, we do not need you in our tent any more’.”
The foreign minister of Qatar has rejected a list of demands submitted by four Arab countries as unacceptable and said that Doha agrees with the US that they should push for a “rational” solution to the crisis.
The comments on Tuesday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani came after a meeting with his US counterpart, Rex Tillerson, in Washington, DC.
“What has been presented by the countries of the blockade are merely claims that are not proved by evidence and are not demands,” said Al Thani, adding: “The demands must be realistic and enforceable. Anything else is rejected.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir says there will be no negotiations over a list of demands the kingdom and its allies have submitted to Qatar to end the Gulf crisis.
Asked by reporters on a visit to the United States on Tuesday if the demands were non-negotiable, Jubeir said: “Yes”.
“We made our point, we took our steps and it’s up to the Qataris to amend their behaviour and once they do, things will be worked out, but if they don’t they will remain isolated,” Jubeir, who was in Washington, DC, said.
A trade association representing more than 80 media companies has voiced its support for Al Jazeera amid a Saudi-led campaign to have the network shut down.
In a statement released on Monday, Digital Content Next joined a host of media outlets and organisations that have announced their support for Al Jazeera against calls for its closure.
“It is vital we value and protect the independence of media organisations and journalists around the world. Any effort to silence journalists or use news organisations as a bargaining chip is an affront to freedom,” the statement said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, the New York Times editorial board and The Guardian have all condemned the efforts to pressure Qatar into shutting down Al Jazeera.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel urged all sides in the Gulf diplomatic crisis to hold direct talks to avoid a further escalation.
“The longer the crisis around Qatar continues, the deeper and stronger the lines of conflict will become,” Gabriel told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Zarif said Iran was interested in working towards a political solution to the dispute, saying that “pressure and sanctions and blockades” were not the answer.
The Qatari riyal has strengthened against the US dollar in the forward market after two days of sharp falls caused by the continued diplomatic rift between Qatar and neighbouring Arab powers.
One-month riyal forwards showed the currency marked as firm as 3.751 per dollar, according to Reuters data, after hitting a low of 3.793 on Monday.
Three-month forwards also saw the riyal strengthening to 3.755 compared with the previous day’s low of 3.796.
Qatari assets have come under pressure since Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a boycott on the Arab Gulf country three weeks ago.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will meet with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Washington on Tuesday.
The meeting at the State Department comes days after Doha dismissed a list of demands from Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Tillerson has urged a diplomatic solution to the Gulf crisis, and Washington has been pushing for a clear list of grievances that are “reasonable and actionable”.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee says it has monitored several serious violations against Qatari students in three neighbouring counties amid a major regional fallout, according to a report on state media.
The report said Qatari students were not allowed to complete their exams at the end of the academic year and were refused certificates of graduation. Their educational accounts were also closed and their school registration were “arbitrarily” terminated without reason.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, has called on European countries to use their influence to defuse tensions between Saudi Arabia and its allies and Qatar.
In a speech in Germany’s capital, Berlin, Zarif said the Arab countries who blamed Iran or Qatar for “terrorism” were trying to avoid taking responsibility for their own failures in addressing the demands of their own people.
“When foreign policy becomes a commodity, then purchasing military equipment becomes your yardstick for measuring who is a terrorist or who isn’t a terrorist,” Zarif said.
A list of 13 demands issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to Qatar as a condition to end a regional crisis is “very provocative”, according to Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s foreign minister.
Speaking on Monday at an event hosted by the European Council on Foreign Relations in Germany’s capital, Berlin, Gabriel also said it would be difficult for Doha to support all demands made of it.
Republican Senator Bob Corker said he would withhold consent for US arms sales to members of the Gulf Cooperation Council until there is a path forward to resolving the region’s diplomatic crisis.
“All countries in the region need to do more to combat terrorism, but recent disputes among the GCC countries only serve to hurt efforts to fight ISIS (ISIL) and counter Iran,” Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in a letter to Rex Tillerson, US secretary of state.
Corker and Tillerson have a close relationship and speak frequently on foreign policy issues.
Just over two weeks after stating that Turkey’s military’s presence in Qatar has no relation to an ongoing Gulf crisis, Bahrain’s foreign minister appears to have performed a complete U-turn.
Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa on Monday accused Qatar of creating a “military escalation” in the regional diplomatic dispute, in an apparent reference to the long-planned deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar’s capital, Doha, in recent days.
“The disagreement with Qatar is a political and security dispute and has never been military,” Khalid bin Ahmed said on Twitter.
“But the deployment of foreign troops with their armoured vehicles is a military escalation for which Qatar will bear the consequences.”
Yet, these remarks contradicted previous statements made by Khalid bin Ahmed during a visit to Turkey in June 10, when he said: “This base has been established … to protect the countries in the region from threats that might emerge. It has nothing to do what is going on between us and Qatar.”
“The attempt to silence Al Jazeera is an attempt to silence independent journalism in the region, and to challenge everyone’s freedom to be heard and to be informed. This must not be allowed to happen,” the Doha-based media network said in an open letter.
We are deeply proud of our journalism. We respect – and give thanks to – everyone we report about, and everyone we inform.
We remain resolute in carrying out our responsibility of providing reliable information, and giving those we cover a voice.
We are unwavering in our resolve to continue doing so, and we will proceed to tell the stories of the world from Kabul to Caracas and from Mosul to Sydney.
We will continue to do our job with integrity. We will continue to be courageous in the pursuit of the truth. And we will continue to respect people’s rights to be heard.
Read the full letter here.
Qatari citizens express unity and sadness as the crisis casts a shadow over Islam’s most important holiday.
“There are a lot of families …, a lot of people who have suffered from this blockade,” said Qatari citizen Ali Al Merri – whose children have Bahraini passports. “Politicians must keep this between the governments and not involve the citizens.”
Khaled Al Hajiri, another Qatari citizen, said the decision by Saudi Arabia and its allies came as a “shock” to him and his family: “For me personally, it is breaking my heart that I cannot see my cousins in Abu Dhabi. Most of my friends also have relatives there.”
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani have held a telephone conversation, according to the office of the presidency’s website.
The Sunday report quotes Rouhani as telling the Emir of Qatar that the “siege of Qatar is not acceptable for us”, adding that “Tehran will stand by Qatar’s government”.
“Iran’s air space, ground and sea will be always be open to Qatar as a … friendly nation,” said Rouhani, and that the two countries’ cooperation will remain “continuous”.
Iran’s president added that “pressure, threats and sanctions” are not solutions for resolving rifts.
Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani extended wishes for the Eid al-Fitr festival, and said: “Qatar has open arms for interaction and cooperation.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says some demands on Qatar by a group of Arab countries that have imposed a blockade against it “will be very difficult to meet”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the US diplomat added, however, that the list submitted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt includes “significant areas which provide a basis for ongoing dialogue leading to a resolution”.
“A productive next step would be for each of the countries to sit together and continue this conversation,” said Tillerson, confirming that Qatar has begun the review of the demands.
“We believe our allies and partners are stronger when they are working together towards one goal, which we all agree is stopping terrorism and countering extremism,” Tillerson said, calling for a “lowering of rhetoric” to “help ease the tension”.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has reiterated his support for Kuwait’s mediation efforts to defuse the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
In a speech marking the end of Ramadan, Bashir said: “We welcome Eid al-Fitr with all its joy and we recall what our Arab and Islamic nation is going through in terms of strife between honourable brothers who had and still have generous stances with our country”.
He said the situation “necessitates that we work” towards reconciliation and exert all efforts to bring them together, noting that Sudan will back all efforts that aim at ending the crisis.
“Sudan is backing the efforts made by the emir of Kuwait until his bona-fide intentions of maintaining this rift have been materialised,” Bashir added.
“We welcome [Qatar’s position] because we consider the 13-point list against international law,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency on Sunday.
He also said calling for closure of the Turkish base in Qatar was “disrespectful against Turkey”.
Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in an interview with German daily Der Tagesspiegel that Qatar has never backed “extremist” groups and will not support such groups in the future.
The ambassador said that no evidence had been provided to support the allegations made against Qatar, adding that they had been made in a sudden manner.
He pointed out that there had been many meetings held under the GCC umbrella over the past few months – none of which saw these allegations surface.
The first deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Kuwait, the country leading mediation efforts to defuse the Gulf crisis, held a series of telephone conversations on Saturday with several international diplomats, according to state-run media.
Kuwait’s KUNA news agency said that Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah spoke with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
He also had a phone discussion with Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s foreign minister, and Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
The diplomats discussed the latest regional and international developments, KUNA said.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani have held a telephone conversation, according to the office of the presidency’s website.
The Sunday report quotes Rouhani as telling the Emir of Qatar that the “siege of Qatar is not acceptable for us”, adding that “Tehran will stand by Qatar’s government”.
“Iran’s air space, ground and sea will be always be open to Qatar as a … friendly nation,” said Rouhani, and that the two countries’ cooperation will remain “continuous”.
Iran’s president added that “pressure, threats and sanctions” are not solutions for resolving rifts.
Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani extended wishes for the Eid al-Fitr festival, and said: “Qatar has open arms for interaction and cooperation.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says some demands on Qatar by a group of Arab countries that have imposed a blockade against it “will be very difficult to meet”.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the top US diplomat added, however, that the list submitted by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt includes “significant areas which provide a basis for ongoing dialogue leading to a resolution”.
“A productive next step would be for each of the countries to sit together and continue this conversation,” said Tillerson, confirming that Qatar has begun the review of the demands.
“We believe our allies and partners are stronger when they are working together towards one goal which we all agree is stopping terrorism and countering extremism,” Tillerson said, calling for a “lowering of rhetoric” to “help ease the tension”.
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has reiterated his support for Kuwait’s mediation efforts to defuse the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
In a speech marking the end of Ramadan, Bashir said: “We welcome Eid Al Fitr with all its joy and we recall what our Arab and Islamic nation is going through in terms of strife between honorable brothers who had and still have generous stances with our country”.
He said the situation “necessitates that we work” towards reconciliation and exert all efforts to bring them together, noting that Sudan will back all efforts that aim at ending the crisis.
“Sudan is backing the efforts made by the emir of Kuwait until his bona-fide intentions of maintaining this rift have been materialised,” Bashir added.
“We welcome [Qatar’s position] because we consider the 13-point list against international law,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by the state-run Anadolu news agency on Sunday.
He also said calling for closure the Turkish base in Qatar was “disrespectful against Turkey”.
Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in an interview with German daily Der Tagesspiegel that Qatar has never backed “extremist” groups and will not support such groups in the future.
The ambassador said that no evidence had been provided to support the allegations made against Qatar, adding that they had been made in a sudden manner.
He pointed out that there were many meetings held under the GCC umbrella over the last few months – none of which saw these allegations surface.
The first deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Kuwait, the country leading mediation efforts to defuse the Gulf crisis, held on Saturday a series of telephone conversations with several international diplomats, according to state-run media.
Kuwait’s KUNA news agency said that Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah spoke with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
He also had a phone discussion with Sigmar Gabriel, Germany’s foreign minister, and Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
The diplomats discussed the latest regional and international developments, KUNA said.
Ibrahim Fraihat, associate professor in conflict management and humanitarian action at the Doha Institute, said that Qatar’s response to the Saudi-UAE list of demands is “most likely going to be a very short document”.
“With such high expectations and not very realistic demands I don’t think there’s much room to negotiate,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Because it’s no longer about the issue of terrorism or the relationship with Iran – it’s about much more than that. It’s about media freedom, the right of the people in the region to receive information and people around the world to get information about the Middle East,” he added.
Fraihat said the crisis is “serious”, noting that there is a “huge gap” between the positions of the opposing sides.
“I think this will require very intensive diplomacy from Kuwait in order to bridge the gap, which is going to take not weeks, but months,” he said.
El Salvador’s ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) party has expressed its solidarity with Qatar in the current diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
In a statement, FMLN called for a peaceful solution to the crisis through diplomatic and political channels.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash has said the Arab countries imposing a blockade on Qatar are not seeking to force out the country’s leadership, but are willing to “part ways” if it does not agree to their list of demands.
Gargash told reporters in Dubai on Saturday that his country and its allies – Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain – do not want “regime change” in Qatar, but “bahavioural change”.
The comments come after the four countries presented a list of 13 demands to Qatar on Thursday, according to a report by the state-run Qatar News Agency.
Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab said the “push by Arab states for the close of Al Jazeera and its affiliates appears to reflect jealousy and internal fighting rather than a demand regarding the network’s content”.
In an opinion article in the Washington Post, Kuttab said it was “vitally important to keep the media out of the current Gulf content”.
He added: “Instead of trying to kill the messenger, the best way to respond to content that is unfavourable is to produce countering content”.
The Qatari government’s communications office has said in a statement that the demands submitted by four Arab states are neither reasonable or actionable.
The statement added that the “illegal blockade has nothing to do with combatting terrorism, it is about limiting Qatar’s sovereignty, and outsourcing our foreign policy”.
Qatar’s foreign ministry has said in a statement late on Friday that the country had received a list of demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies and it was studying the document in order to prepare an appropriate response to it.
The ministry said the answer would be handed over to Kuwait, a mediator in the Gulf crisis.
National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has said a 13-point list of demands submitted to Qatar contain conditions that violate human rights conventions and other relevant international and regional agreements.
Its statement on Friday said Saudi Arabia and its allies were demanding gross violations of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the right to nationality and the right to asylum, which was against international law.
NHRC said lifting of the siege cannot be subject to restrictions or conditions and “it should therefore be lifted immediately and unconditionally”.
It called on all international human rights organisations to take prompt action to end this illegal siege and to prevent the implementation of those conditions which are contrary to human rights conventions.
NHRC also urged Qatar not to accept those demands.
Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Qatar’s transport minister, said on Friday that the UN aviation agency would hold a special hearing on June 30 on Qatar’s request to reopen Gulf airspace that is currently managed by the UAE.
Al Sulaiti met Fang Liu, the secretary-general of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, on Friday at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
He handed over a copy of a formal request for opening a permanent office of ICAO in Qatar and received an immediate approval.
The White House said on Friday the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and four Arab states is a “family issue” that the states should work out among themselves.
Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, would not comment on specific demands that Saudi Arabia and its allies have placed on Qatar.
He said the US was willing to play a “facilitating role” in the discussion. But he said he was not going to get into the middle of the discussion.
A leading British publication, The Guardian, has published an editorial on Friday, referring in the headline to a demand by Saudi Arabia and its allies for Qatar to shut Al Jazeera Media Network as “muzzling journalism”.
“This is ridiculous. Qatar’s neighbours want to gag media that raises questions about the way these nations are run,” the article said.
“Al-Jazeera is not perfect. Its Arabic outlet has been accused in the past of being antisemitic and partisan. It rarely criticises Qatar’s absolute monarchy. However, Qatar abolished formal censorship two decades ago.”
“By comparison, in 2012 the UAE demanded David Cameron rein in adverse BBC coverage or it would halt lucrative arms deals.”
“Abu Dhabi is a regional media player. The UAE’s deputy prime minister owns Sky News Arabia, along with Rupert Murdoch’s broadcaster. According to observers this station put out fake news about Qatar’s ruler.”
Britain’s foreign secretary has said that a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf will end only when “measured and realistic” conditions are discussed, in comments made shortly after a 13-point ultimatum was reportedly issued by a Saudi-led bloc of countries that have cut ties with Qatar.
“Gulf unity can only be restored when all countries involved are willing to discuss terms that are measured and realistic,” Boris Johnson said on Friday, according to a statement published by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
“The UK calls upon the Gulf states to find a way of deescalating the situation and lifting the current embargo and restrictions which are having an impact on the everyday lives of people in the region,” Johnson added.
The United Nations on Friday offered to step in to help resolve a deepening crisis in the Gulf after Qatar was confronted with a list of demands from its neighbours.
“We hope that the countries involved resolve the situation through dialogue,” said UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko. “We are ready to assist if requested by the parties.”
“We continue to follow the situation with deep concern. We are aware of reports of a list of demands on Qatar. We are not able to comment in detail on, or confirm such a list.”
Yousef al-Otaiba, the Emirati ambassador to the US, has said that Qatar will remain cut off from its neighbours if it refuses to consent to their list of demands.
He told the AP news agency the measures taken against Qatar “are there to stay until there is a long-term solution to the issue”.
Still, he suggested the actions to pressure Qatar would remain economic and diplomatic. Otaiba said there was “no military element to this whatsoever”.
Sheikh Meshal bin Hamad Al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the US, said in an article published in Washington Post on Thursday that the allegations that Qatar supports “terrorism” and that it is a secret ally of Iran are just a smokescreen for an attempt to infringe upon Qatar’s sovereignty and punish it for its independence.
“They know terrorism poses just as much of a threat to Qatar as it does to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and every other nation.”
“The second big lie in this smear campaign is that Qatar is a secret ally of Iran. The Saudis, the UAE and every government in the Gulf maintain diplomatic and trade relations with Iran. In fact, Iran’s biggest trading partner is the nation now leading the anti-Qatar blockade: the UAE. But more important, Qatar has been providing vital support to the opposition in Syria – which is battling against government forces allied with Iran.”
Sheikh Meshal believes that the blockading states are seeking to isolate and punish Qatar for its independence and “to retaliate against us for supporting the true aspirations of people against tyrants and dictators”.
Al Jazeera Media Network has condemned a demand by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries to shut the media organisation, calling it “nothing short than a siege against the journalistic profession”.
The network said in a statement on Friday that the move aimed “to silence the freedom of expression in the region and to suppress people’s right to information and the right to be heard”.
“We assert our right to practice our journalism professionally without bowing to pressure from any government or authority and we demand that governments respect the freedom of media to allow journalists to continue to do their jobs free of intimidation, threats, and fearmongering,” it said.
Almost immediately after the Saudi-led bloc’s 13-point list of demands was made public on Friday, Twitter users began posting their reactions under the hashtag “the list is refused”.
“Qatar refuses Saudi and the Emirates’ conditions and answers them with this voice message,” wrote one Twitter user, embedding a man singing an old Gulf song, asking his wife to “take your bag of clothes and leave my house for good” and telling her she has a “long tongue”, implying she talks too much.
Other Twitter users circulated a humourous list of counter demands for both the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Giles Trendle, the acting managing director of Al Jazeera English, said: “The roots of the demand to close Al Jazeera probably goes back to 2011, to the time of the so called Arab Spring. We were covering those protests and we were providing a diversity of viewpoints, we were really the voice of the voiceless. I think there are some regimes in the region that don’t appreciate that diversity of views. I think that’s the reason for what’s going on here.”
“We are going to continue our editorial mission of covering the world news in a fair and balanced way. We call on all governments to respect media freedom. We hope other media organisations will support our call to defend media freedom.”
“We are stunned by the demand to close Al Jazeera. Of course there has been talk about it in the past but it is still a great shock and surprise to actually see it in writing. It’s as absurd as it would be for Germany to demand Britain to close the BBC.”
Reporters Without Borders, a non-profit organisation promoting press freedom, has condemned the demand by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries to shut Al Jazeera network and other media outlets in Qatar.
“We are really worried about the implication and consequences of such requirements if it will ever be implemented,” said Alexandra El Khazen, head of Middle East and North Africa desk at Reporters Without Borders.
The United Arab Emirates says that the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf would turn into a “divorce” with Qatar if Doha does not take a list with 13 demands seriously.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash also accused Qatar of leaking a document containing the demands by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, which have cut diplomatic ties with the gas-rich state accusing it of sponsoring terror.
The demands have not been officially unveiled.
Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik told Turkish broadcaster NTV that his country had no plans to review a 2014 agreement with Qatar which led to the base being set up.
His reaction comes after Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries boycotting Qatar over alleged support for “terrorism” reportedly issued a list of demands, including closing down the military installation.
“The base in Qatar is both a Turkish base and one that will preserve the security of Qatar and the region, Isik said, calling the demands “an interference in bilateral ties”.
Arab states boycotting Qatar have reportedly issued a 13-point list of demands which include shutting down Al Jazeera Media Network and scaling back on ties with Iran.
In the list, obtained by The Associated Press and Reuters news agency, the countries reportedly also demand that Qatar sever all alleged ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda and ISIL among others. Qatar denies having ties to these goups.
The list adds that Qatar now has 10 days to comply with the demands without specifying the course of action if Qatar does not comply.
Qatar has never supported Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, the Syrian group formerly known as the Nusra Front, or any other “terrorist group”, its foreign minister says.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in an interview with France 24 Arabic that Qatar had always “abided by international laws” and played a key role in the international coalition fighting ISIL.
The foreign minister added that he expects to receive a list of demands from Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the next two days, but stressed Qatar would not accept any “foreign dictations”.
Qatar on Thursday rejected and condemned the statement made by the so-called Colonel Ahmad Al Mismari, spokesman for Haftar’s forces, which said Qatar intervened in the internal affairs and financed “terrorism” in Libya.
Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Rumaihi, spokesman of the foreign ministry, said Qatar’s policy is based on clear and consistent principles of mutual respect between states and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
Al-Rumaihi said that Mismari’s statement is baseless, false and misleading allegations, referring to Haftar’s force as the rogue and illegally funded armed militia, which he said is known for its crimes against civilians.
Qatar Airways is attempting to buy a 10 percent stake in American Airlines, which has confirmed the move by filing for a required review by the US justice department’s antitrust division.
American said in the regulatory filing onThursday that the bid was unsolicited, but that the CEOs of both airlines have spoken.
“The proposed investment by Qatar Airways was not solicited by American Airlines and would in no way change the Company’s Board composition, governance, management or strategic direction,” said American.
Qatari Emiri Naval Forces and French Naval Forces conducted military trainings north of Qatar on Thursday.
Qatar’s defence ministry said in a statement that the trainings included sailing in shallow water and refueling at sea.
Iran is shipping more than 1,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables to Qatar every day after Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia cut relations with Doha, Fars news agency quoted Mohammad Mehdi Bonchari, director of ports in Iran’s Boushehr province, as saying on Thursday.
Iran began sending food to Qatar shortly after the Gulf crisis left the emirate without the land transport links it usually relies on to import food.
On June 11, Fars quoted the head of Iran’s cattle exporting association as saying 66 tonnes of beef had been exported to Qatar, with another 90 tonnes of beef expected to follow.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and its new crown prince over the phone on Wednesday.
They agreed to increase efforts to end tension related to Qatar, sources from Erdogan’s office said.
Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani sent a written message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the developments in the Gulf.
The message was received by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting with Qatar’s Ambassador to Russia Fahad Bin Mohammed Al Attiyah.
Qatar’s Emir Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani held a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the Gulf crisis.
Trudeau expressed his concern over the situation, stressing the need for “calm, dialogue based on facts, transparency and mutual respect”, Qatar News Agency reported.
Qatar’s Emir, whose country is facing a blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies, has congratulated Mohammed bin Salman on his appointment as crown prince of Saudi Arabia, the state news agency QNA said.
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent a cable to Prince Mohammed “wishing him success… for the good of the kingdom under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques… and for more progress for brotherly relations between the two brotherly countries”.
Turkey is sending food supplies to Qatar by sea on Wednesday to compensate for a recent embargo by Qatar’s neighbour states, according to Turkey’s economy minister.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, Nihat Zeybekci said that nearly 105 cargo planes have already carried food from Turkey to Qatar.
“However, it is not economical [or sustainable] to send food stuff by plane,” he said.
The minister stated that further shipments will follow Wednesday’s batch, adding that the Turkish products started to be delivered also by land.
Zeybekci further said Turkey also began to ship more durable consumer goods and house maintenance requirements to Qatar.
A delegation of Turkish businessmen met with their Qatari counterparts in Doha on Wednesday to discuss bilateral trade and economic relations amid Qatar’s ongoing diplomatic crisis.
Fairuz Mohieddin, the CEO of a major Qatari company, told Anadolu Agency: “We have agreed with the Turkish delegation on a joint strategy for providing Qatar with whatever foodstuffs, medical supplies, and construction materials it needs.”
“Qatar is facing serious shortages in the medical sector, for which it had largely depended on Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE,” Turkish delegation member Atilla Kurucayirli told Anadolu Agency.
“The Turkish side wants to know Qatar’s exact logistic needs and how to best carry out joint projects that will serve Qatar’s interests in the coming phase,” he added.
US State Secretary Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday Washington hopes that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies will soon present Qatar a list of “reasonable and actionable” demands to move the diplomatic crisis toward a resolution.
“We understand a list of demands has been prepared and coordinated by the Saudis, Emiratis, Egyptians and Bahrainis,” Tillerson said in a statement. “We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar and will be reasonable and actionable.”
Tillerson said the US backs a Kuwaiti mediation effort aimed at resolving the crisis.
The White House said on Wednesday that US President Donald Trump called Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to express their shared commitment to “cutting off all support for terrorists and extremists, as well as how to resolve the ongoing dispute with Qatar.”
Trump and Mohammed bin Salman, who was elevated from deputy crown prince to crown prince earlier on Wednesday, also discussed efforts to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Qatar has welcomed a statement by the United States questioning the motives behind a series of anti-Qatar measures imposed this month by several Arab countries, according to a report published in state media.
Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Rumaihi, spokesman for Qatar’s foreign ministry, expressed Doha’s “welcome” on Wednesday, a day after the US state department said it was “mystified”that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and their allies had not released their claimed grievances about Qatar.
Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, 57, deposed as Saudi Arabia’s crown prince.
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, 31, the son of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has been appointed in his place.
Bin Salman also named deputy prime minister, while maintaining post of minister of defence.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he thinks the most likely successful mediation of the row between Qatar and Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries should be regional – like the current effort led by Kuwait’s emir.
Guterres, added, however, that if the United States gets involved in mediation, “that, of course, will be welcome if they are able to do so in an effective way”.
Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, said on Sunday that all parties in the dispute had a duty to preserve regional unity and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.
In a speech, the emir said he hoped the remaining days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan would create “the atmosphere for resolving unfortunate differences and ending the rift through dialogue and communication” in the Gulf.
Qatar’s Attorney General Ali Bin Fetais al-Marri said in Doha on Tuesday: “Qatar has evidence that certain iPhones originating from countries laying siege to Qatar were used in the hack [of Qatar News Agency]”.
He did not name the countries.
Qatar’s Chairman of National Rights Committee Ali bin Samikh al-Marri has said that the blockade imposed on his country is like a “new Berlin Wall”.
Speaking at a European Parliament meeting in Brussels, Marri urged the body to visit the NHRCheadquarters to see what he referred to as the suffering of Qatari citizens by the new regulations of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“This is not just a case of diplomatic ties being cut off,” Marri said. “What is happening is not a boycott but an unjust blockade and a collective punishment for Qatar’s citizens and residents.”
US state department has said it is “mystified” that Gulf states have not released details about their grievances towards Qatar more than two weeks after they imposed a blockade on the country.
Heather Nauert, the state department spokesperson, said in Tuesday’s press briefing that the more time goes by “the more doubt is raised” about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate’s anti-Qatar measures.
“At this point, we are left with one simple question: Were the actions really about their concerns regarding Qatar’s alleged support for terrorism or were they about the long-simmering grievances between and among the GCC countries,” she said, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Anwar Gargash, UAE’s foreign minister, said in Brussels on Tuesday that “we do need to create some sort of monitoring system of Qatar’s obligations”.
He said he hoped US and European officials from countries like Britain, France and Germany could take part.
Gargash said he expects the crisis to drag on because “the Qataris are still in a state of denial”.
Qatar’s finance minister told US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during a trip to Washington last week that Qatar was committed to maintaining stability around its exports of liquefied natural gas to the global energy market, according to a statement by Qatar’s government communication office.
“They discussed Qatar’s efforts to counter terror financing… and Qatar’s commitment to maintaining stability around its exports to the global energy market,” the statement said.
Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund made US dollar deposits in some local banks last week as a precaution after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states cut diplomatic and transport ties with Doha, Qatari commercial bankers said.
One Qatar-based banker, whose own institution received funds, said new deposits in the banking system by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) at the end of last week were believed to total several billion dollars. He described the deposits as “pre-emptive”.
At a recent meeting between top commercial bank executives and central bank officials, the executives said they did not need dollar liquidity at present, the banker told Reuters news agency, declining to be named because of commercial sensitivities.
A delegation from Human Rights Watch has met with officials from Qatar’s National Human Rights Council (NHRC) and Qatari citizens affected by a blockade imposed by a Saudi-led bloc of neighbouring countries against Qatar.
During the meeting, which took place at the NHRC’s headquarters, the delegation was informed about the legal and humanitarian consequences resulting from the moves against Qatar.
A large number of Qatari citizens listed their complaints, including violations of their right to education, right to own property, right to mobility and the right to family reunion. The NHRC says it has so far received more than 1,750 complaints.
Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir has arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz on the Gulf crisis and means of resolving it
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said that Bashir will reiterate his support to the Kuwaiti mediation efforts to solve the crisis, stressing that Khartoum will exert all efforts to bridge the gap between the GCC states.
The European Union has urged Gulf countries to “de-escalate the tensions and to engage in direct dialogue” and called for “no unilateral steps” following a major diplomatic fallout in the region.
“Any difficulty, any tension, can be and must be resolved at a table, discussing, in dialogue, finding common ways, and politically,” Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign affairs head, told reporters in Luxembourg on Monday.
“The region is already fragile enough, dangerous enough, and we are starting to see dangerous spill-overs already both in the broader region but also in Africa and in Asia,” she added.
“There are worrying signals, so we really invite all to find a way to solve any tension, any controversies, at a table, discussing through dialogue, politically, without exacerbating tensions. It is always possible and even more so has to be possible among countries that belong to the Gulf Cooperation Countries.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan have met in Egypt’s capital, Cairo.
“Both sides stressed the importance of all Arab states and the international community fighting terrorism, especially stopping the funding of terrorist groups and providing political and media cover,” Sisi’s office said in a statement.
The recent short-term suspension of Al Jazeera Arabic’s Twitter account highlights the fact that a major part of the commentary, rumours and backlash on the Gulf crisis took place online.
Here is a look back at the tweets, hashtags and Instagram drama that dominated the ongoing Gulf tensions.
The Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) on Monday expressed concern about the diplomatic crisis revolving around Qatar, saying that politics and sports must stay separate.
Switzerland-based organisation said: “ANOC today expressed its hope that the international sports movement in Qatar would not be endangered by the geopolitical situation in the Gulf region.”
Qatar has hosted big sports events in recent years, as well last last year’s ANOC assembly. Future events in the country include the world athletics championships 2019 and the 2022 football World Cup.
State-run Qatar News Agency instructed on Monday a law firm to file a formal complaint with Ofcom, Britain’s telecommunications regulator, against two news channels for their coverage of Qatar.
The British law firm, Carter-Ruck, will be raising concerns regarding Sky’s Abu Dhabi-based subsidiary, Sky News Arabia, and the Saudi-owned Dubai-based Al-Arabiya news channel.
The top executive of Qatar Airways has warned that the blockade imposed on his country by neighbouring Gulf countries “will leave a lasting wound.”
Akbar Al Baker told The Associated Press news agency on Monday that he expected US President Donald Trump to intervene “to make sure that this blockade is lifted soonest…especially since he knows that we are part of his alliance against terrorism.”
Qatar’s foreign minister said that Doha will not negotiate with Arab states that have cut economic and travel ties with the country unless they reverse their measures.
“Qatar is under blockade, there is no negotiation. They have to lift the blockade to start negotiations,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told reporters in Doha on Monday.
“Until now we didn’t see any progress about lifting the blockade, which is the precondition for anything to move forward,” he said.
Anwar Gargash, UAE’s minister of foreign affairs, said Qatar’s diplomatic isolation could “last years”.
“We do not want to escalate, we want to isolate,” Gargash told journalists during a visit to Paris.
Gargash added that Qatar must abandon what he called its support for “extremist Islamists” before a solution can be brokered.
The deadline for Qataris to leave neighbouring Gulf Arab states has come into effect as the diplomatic standoff persists despite multiple mediation efforts.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar on June 5 and announced that Qatari residents would have 14 days to leave. The deadline was Monday.
Officials later clarified there would be exceptions for mixed-nationality families in the Gulf.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is travelling to Saudi Arabia on Monday, in the first leg of a Middle East tour that will also include Iraq and Kuwait, his office said.
Abadi’s visit to Saudi Arabia aims to promote reconciliation between the two countries.
Abadi was due to visit Riyadh last week, but postponed his trip to avoid appearing to take sides in the diplomatic dispute.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) said it has received more than “100 complaints a day” by people who have been affected by the ongoing rift between Qatar and the GCC states that have imposed a blockade on the country.
“In the first week we had 700 complaints. In the last four or five days the numbers have risen significantly,” NHRC’s Saad al-Abdulla told Al Jazeera.
Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatar government’s communications office, said on Sunday that the humanitarian impact of the blockade imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia and its allies “is real”.
Al Thani said: “The social-fabric of [the] GCC population is being torn apart for political reasons and we will not allow ourselves to be a party to this injustice.”
He added that the countries that have imposed the blockade “are using terrorism as a publicity stunt”.
Qatar’s minister of economy and commerce says trade in the country is running as usual despite a land, air and sea embargo imposed by a Saudi-lec bloc of neighbouring countries.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim bin Mohamed Al Thani said in an interview with Qatar TV on Sunday that authorities responded quickly to the closure of the borders by getting products through sea and other means.
The minister called the moves against Qatar unjustified and said that many Qatari businessmen, who have warehouses and factories in the countries that imposed the blockade, are now finding it difficult to travel or manage their businesses.
It said the forces conducted their first training at the Tariq bin Ziyad military base.
“In this great month and its holy nights we hope to overcome the latest developments in our Gulf home and … fix the rift through dialogue and communication,” he said.
Abdulla al-Doseri, Bahrain’s assistant foreign minister, wrote on his Twitter account that due to “technical and logistical reasons, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) visit to Bahrain has been postponed until further notice”.
Al-Kaabi said that although there was a “force majeure” clause in the agreement on the Dolphin gas pipeline – which pumps around 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day to the UAE -Qatar would not stop supplies for other reasons.
The soldiers, part of the US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) which is headquartered in Bahrain, had been asked to leave the coalition and may depart within the next 48 hours, a source told AFP.
Qatar’s defence ministry has announced on Sunday that its troops have wrapped up joint exercise with the US forces in Al-Galayel field.
The exercise was conducted by three units: the joint special forces represented by the special mobile force, special operations and special navy, in conjunction with the Qatari Emiri Air Force represented by the transport wing, the helicopter squadron and US special forces, to achieve the principle of joint action.
The exercise was attended by Commander of the Joint Special Forces Brigadier General Hamad Abdullah Al Fetais Al Marri, representative of the US Embassy Brigadier David Parr and high-ranking officers from the Qatari Armed Forces and the US forces.
Qatar’s riyal is being quoted weaker than its peg against the US dollar. The riyal, officially fixed at 3.64 to the dollar since 2001, has been offered as low as 3.6680 since the Gulf crisis started on June 5.
The central bank has $34.5bn of net foreign reserves and the government may have more than $200bn of additional liquid assets in its sovereign wealth fund. So for now, Qatar seems in no danger of running out of money to defend the peg.
“There is no reason for the riyal to be de-pegged in the short term,” said the Qatari banker. “They have enough resources.”
Saud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to Germany, told DPA news agency: “The conflict has to be solved within the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council]. But we need a strong message from our friends in Germany and Europe, that everybody has to sit down at the table.”
“Students from Qatar had to leave Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates two weeks before the exam. Due to the closure of the border to neighbouring countries, families are separated from each other,” he said. “You should not forbid people to travel.”
He pointed out that the UAE gets 40 per cent of its gas from Qatar, a resource-rich yet tiny emirate. “But we haven’t closed the gas pipelines because we don’t want the situation to deteriorate.”
The chief executive of Sharjah National Oil Corp, UAE’s state-owned oil and gas firm, said on Sunday he does not expect flows of natural gas from Qatar to the United Arab Emirates to be interrupted by the diplomatic dispute in the region.
“We have not seen any impact yet on the gas side with regards to Qatar…The pipeline between Abu Dhabi and Qatar has not been impacted,” Hatem Al-Mosa said. “We have not seen and do not expect to see any disuption of gas supplies from the Dolphin pipeline.”
The Dolphin gas pipeline links Qatar’s North Field with the UAE and Oman, and was the first cross-border gas project in the Gulf Arab region. It pumps about 2bn cubic feet of gas per day to the UAE.
Qatar has yet to see any demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies as they continue an embargo on the country, according to Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
“So far Kuwait [the mediator] hasn’t received any demands from any Gulf Cooperation Council nations or even a list of the so-called accusations. We’re just confused about what these demands could be,” Sheikh Mohammed said on Saturday in an interview with Qatar TV.
“The fact that they don’t even have clear demands ready shows that all of their accusations are baseless,” he said.
Turkish demonstrators took to the streets of Istanbul on Saturday to express their solidarity with Qatar against the blockade and severing of ties by three Gulf states.
The group gathered in front of Qatar’s general consulate in Istinye in the European side of the city.
Fatih Kaya, head of the Public Special Operations Association, expressed strong condemnation of the charges directed at by the blockade countries.
He praised Qatar’s efforts and support for Turkey during “difficult times”, adding that this calls for solidarity with Qatar and “returning the favour”.
Saudi Arabia detained a Pakistani journalist and his Turkish cameraman working for Turkey’s state-run English language television channel for some 10 hours on Friday, according to a statement by reporter Hasan Abdullah.
TRT’s Abdullah and cameraman Nihat Yayman were in Saudi Arabia to cover a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who held talks with Saudi King Salman as part of mediation efforts to defuse the ongoing diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
The two TRT workers were detained by Saudi authorities at their hotel in Mecca after a live television appearance, and were asked questions about the row, Abdullah’s statement said.
“We had been there with official ‘Special Visa’ to cover the Turkey-Saudi meeting. The ordeal lasted nearly 10 hours during which we faced multiple interrogations and lock-up,” it said.
Protesters gathered in France’s capital, Paris, to call for the lifting of a land, air and sea blockade imposed by Gulf states on Qatar.
The demonstrators at Place de la Republique said the blockade is a flagrant violation of human rights and amounts to collective punishment.
The protest came a day after Ali Bin Smaikh al-Marri, chairman of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), called on the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the blockade as it infringes upon the rights of more than 13,000 citizens of the Arab countries involved.
According to a report released by NHRC on Thursday, the actions taken by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with Egypt, separated mothers from their children in some cases. Hundreds of complaints were submitted to the NHRC by email, phone and hotlines, or personal visits to its headquarters in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Demonstrators gathered outside the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in Britain’s capital, London, to protest against an ongoing embargo of Qatar by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and others.
The protesters denounced the land, air and sea blockade imposed on Qatar by its Gulf neighbours amid the region’s worst diplomatic crisis in years.
A spokesman for the demonstrators called the embargo a human rights violation and urged the Gulf states to negotiate a peaceful solution to the dispute.
“The blockade on Qatar contravenes international law,” read one placard held by the protesters outside the UAE embassy.
“We have to say to [US President Donald] Trump, we have to say to the government of Saudi Arabia and to the Emiratis that you will not be successful,” a demonstrator said.
Sultan Barakat, an academic from the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute, says the intervention of outside countries aimed at defusing the crisis makes the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) look weak.
“Given the relations between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates through the council, this should have been presented months ago, never mind weeks ago,” Barakat told Al Jazeera. “It should have been dealt privately first – those issues should had been handed to Qatar to debate – and then if it was not resolved they could had escalated the issues.”
Barakat said the situation has not been handled properly.
“I think the embargo has been very damaging, both for Qatar and for the rest of the Gulf states, and now to see other nations coming from outside the region trying to resolve the issue with them doesn’t look good either.”
Turkey’s Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci says his country has airlifted 5,000 tonnes of foodstuff to Qatar to help ease the embargo imposed by its neighbours amid a major diplomatic crisis.
Speaking to Turkish TV on Saturday, Zeybekci said trucks were also on the way.
“Our shipments via sea route will also begin this weekend,” he said. “Turkey could supply all the humanitarian needs of Qatar.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renewed a call for the full removal of a Saudi-led blockade imposed on Qatar and appealed to Saudi Arabia to bring a quick end to the crisis through dialogue.
“I believe that the Saudi king has the ability to resolve this crisis quickly,” Erdogan said in Istanbul, calling for an end to the diplomatic crisis before celebrations to mark the end of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan next week.
“I truly hope it will be resolved before Eid al-Fitr, because it is not appropriate for the Islamic world to be subjected to such a division among its nations. We have the ability to solve these problems through dialogue,” he said during a speech at the Turkish Exporters Assembly meeting in.
“We, here in Turkey, have sought to take a fair stand from the very first moment of the Qatari crisis,” Erdogan added. “We have clearly stated that the accusations against Qatar are not true and that the blockade imposed based on these allegations is unfair.”
A land, air and sea blockade imposed on Qatar by a number of Gulf countries has not impacted services in the country’s hospitals, health officials said, adding that there is no shortage of medicines or medical supplies.
Ali Abdullah Al Khater, executive director of corporate communications Department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), said in a statement to Qatar News Agency that medicines and other important medical supplies can last for many months.
If some of the supply routes are stopped, HMC will find new providers of medicines and medical supplies, he added.
Qatar has rejected accusations that it attempted to undermine the security in Bahrain.
Bahrain’s official BNA news agency accused Doha of meddling with the country’s internal affairs with the aim of “overthrowing” the regime after broadcasting a phone call on Friday allegedly between an adviser to Qatar’s emir at the time and the leader of Bahrain’s opposition Shia Al-Wefaq movement.
In response, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the phone call was part of Qatari efforts to mediate between the Bahraini authorities and opposition in the wake of the 2011 unrest in Bahrain. It added the contacts had been made “with the approval and knowledge of the authorities in Bahrain”.
The ministry also called the broadcast of the phone call a “naive attempt to twist the facts and take them out of context”.
Tamara Kharroub, a senior analyst and assistant executive director at the Arab Center in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera the fact that Saudi Arabia says it is preparing a list of grievances rather than demands could signal it “is not intending to escalate the crisis any further”.
Kharroub said it is “unlikely that [there will be] a list of demands any more”.
Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, held talks in Saudi Arabia on Friday with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, continuing mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf’s biggest diplomatic crisis in years.
Diplomatic sources told the AFP news agency that “the meeting was positive”, but there were no further specifics.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has cancelled his scheduled trip to an Organization of American States meeting in Mexico next week to focus on efforts to defuse the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tillerson would stay to work the phones to try to convince Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to settle their differences.
Tillerson “will continue his efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region through in-person meetings and phone conversations with Gulf and regional leaders,” she said in a brief statement.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has held a trilateral phone conversation with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency.
The three leaders exchanged views on the Qatar-Gulf crisis with a focus on immediately easing tension in the region, a source in Turkey’s presidency, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, told Anadolu.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir said Qatar should respond to demands to halt its support for “extremism and terrorism” which, he said, were being made by the whole world and not just Gulf states.
Speaking to journalists in London, he said his government and its allies were working on a list of “grievances” which would be presented soon.
“We are working on those with our Bahraini, Emirati and Egyptian partners in order to compile this list and present it to the Qataris, and I think it will be done fairly soon.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as part of mediation efforts to resolve the Gulf’s biggest diplomatic crisis in years.
Cavusoglu was to travel from Jeddah to the holy city of Mecca where the king is based for the last days of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
His visit comes after holding talks in Kuwait with his counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al Sabah on Thursday to push mediation efforts.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus says the Gulf diplomatic rift can be quickly solved because there are no grounds to the crisis.
“This is completely an artificial crisis,” he told reporters in the northern Black Sea province of Ordu.
“This crisis has no basis, no socio-political background … We wish for the crisis to be resolved quicker than other crises.”
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has called for a United Nations fact-finding mission to document violations due to a Saudi-led bloc blockade of Qatar.
Speaking in Geneva, NHRC chairman Ali Bin Samikh al-Marri urged the UN Human Rights Council to condemn the blockade as it infringes upon the rights of more than 13,000 citizens of the four Arab Gulf countries involved.
“These procedures [blockade] are worse than the Berlin Wall,” Marri said. “Families have been separated. In one instance, a Saudi man died in Qatar. His sons were prevented by Saudi authorities to bring the body back home so Qatar took the responsibility to bury him.”
British Prime Minister Theresa May called on “all sides to urgently de-escalate the situation, engage meaningfully in dialogue, and restore Gulf Cooperation Council unity at the earliest possible opportunity”, her spokesperson said in a statement.
May’s office said she spoke with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar on Thursday evening.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi postponed Wednesday’s trip to Saudi Arabia “so that it would not be considered as supporting one side against the other” in the rift between the kingdom and Qatar, Jabbar al-Abadi, a lawmaker close to Abadi, told Reuters on Thursday.
Abadi’s office confirmed that the visit, during which Abadi was to meet with Saudi King Salman, was postponed, possibly to next week, without giving a reason.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah has received a call from US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday in which the two officials discussed the Gulf Cooperation Council crisis among other topics, according to the statement by Oman’s foreign ministry read out on Omani state TV.
Abdullah stressed the importance of supporting Kuwait’s efforts to resolve the crisis between Qatar and its neighbours through diplomacy.
He also said that Oman was “confident that brothers in the GCC states have the desire to overcome this crisis and activate the GCC system to achieve the prospective aims, and serve the joint interests of the GCC peoples and maintain the security and stability of the region”.
Qatar Postal Service Company (Q-Post) has sent a written notice to Universal Postal Union (UPU) informing them about the suspension of postal services with Qatar by the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which is a violation of UPU’s constitution and agreements.
Q-Post said the anti-Qatar measures had a significant impact on the daily life of millions of citizens and residents of the country, who were unfairly targeted by the one-sided decision of stopping services.
“We look forward to working effectively with the UPU in a manner consistent with the spirit and systems of the UPU,” Faleh Mohamed Al Naemi, Q-Post’s chairman and managing director, said in a statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The Gulf crisis has begun to dissipate thanks to mediation efforts by Kuwait’s Emir, a prominent member of Kuwait’s royal family said on Thursday.
“I am sure this storm will pass peacefully to the benefit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),” Sheikh Salem al-Ali al-Sabah, who is also head of Kuwait’s National Guard, was quoted as saying on Thursday by Kuwait’s Al-Seyassah newspaper.
“His majesty’s swift response [to the crisis] shows the Emir’s keenness to achieve reconciliation between brothers,” he was quoted as saying.
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Thursday held a telephone conversation with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, discussing the developments of the Gulf crisis among other topics.
Merkel stressed during the call the need to solve the crisis through dialogue, pointing to Germany’s efforts to lift the blockade and voicing concern towards the potential repercussions of any escalation on the whole region.
The Gulf crisis initially halted much traffic to Qatar’s main seaport, Hamad Port, and raised fears of food and other shortages.
But after launching new direct shipping routes to cope with the crisis, port officials say the worst is over and the episode may even help gas-rich Qatar seal new transport deals that do not rely on Gulf neighbours.
“It’s a blessing in disguise,” a port official said as cargo was unloaded on Wednesday. “We’re looking at signing agreements with shipping companies that can improve direct services instead of having to come through Jebel Ali” in Dubai.
Qatar said on Thursday a rift with fellow Gulf Arab states that included economic sanctions on Doha had not affected its preparations to host the 2022 World Cup, adding that alternative sources for construction materials had been secured.
“I can confirm to everybody that there is absolutely no impact on the progress of work in the Mondial facilities and that work is proceeding normally,” said Ghanim al-Kuwari, executive director at the Qatari committee overseeing preparations for the World Cup.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday held talks in Kuwait with his counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah to push mediation efforts aimed at resolving a standoff between a Saudi-led alliance and Qatar.
Ahead of the talks, Cavusoglu told a press conference that he will travel to the holy city of Mecca on Friday for talks with King Salman.
“Although the kingdom is a party in this crisis, we know that King Salman is a party in resolving it. We want to hear the views of Saudi Arabia regarding possible solutions and will share with them our views in a transparent way … We pay a great attention to our relations with them,” he said.
A few large Asian, European and US banks are providing funds to help to keep Qatari banks running smoothly after a diplomatic rift has dried up financing from the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, banking sources told Reuters news agency.
“We’re unscathed so far,” one Qatari banker said. “The panic has eased as we’ve been able to continue receiving funding, though there’s certainly no complacency about the risks that remain.”
He said his bank had borrowed over $100m in unsecured three-year financing from a European bank and obtained six-month deposits from Asian and European banks in the two weeks since the crisis erupted. US banks were still trading through bilateral and repo lines, he said.
The Philippine government on Thursday lifted a temporary deployment ban – imposed on June 6 and partially lifted a day later – on overseas Filipino labourers travelling to Qatar for work.
Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the decision to fully lift the moratorium was made after consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the endorsement of the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO).
Bello also said the Qatari government had guaranteed the safety of the approximately 240,000 Filipinos in the country.
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Qatar’s Defence Minister Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Attiyah and US defence secretary James Mattis signed the deal in Washington, DC.
Al-Attiyah said the agreement underscores the “commitment in advancing our military cooperation for closer strategic collaboration in our fight to counter violent extremism”.
“Qatar and the United States have solidified their military cooperation by having fought together side by side for many years now in an effort to eradicate terrorism and promote a future of dignity and prosperity,” he added.
The United Nations aviation agency said on Wednesday it was reviewing a request from Qatar to intervene after its Gulf neighbours closed airspace to nation amid the worst diplomatic row in the region in years.
The International Civil Aviation Organization said would host talks of ministers and senior officials from Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt at its Montreal headquarters on Thursday to help find a “consensus-based solution” that addressed “current regional concerns”.
“There are elements of the Muslim Brotherhood that have become parts of governments,” US Secretary of State Rex said, pointing out parliaments in Bahrain and Turkey as examples.
“Those elements… have done so by renouncing violence and terrorism,” he said.
“So in designating the Brotherhood in its totality as a terrorist organisation… I think you can appreciate the complexities this enters into our relations with [governments in the region].”
French President Emmanuel Macron has travelled to Morocco for talks on battling terrorism as well as the Libyan conflict and Qatar’s dispute with its Gulf neighbours.
“President Macron has spoken with all the heads of state of the region and called for appeasement. This efforts could converge with the mediation that Morocco wants to attempt.”
A French diplomatic source said “the priority is to help resolve the crisis”.
Businesses in Qatar say they are pulling the plug on UAE and Saudi contracts, and don’t expect to resume them even if the diplomatic storm blows over.
“We are not working with them again. They didn’t honour their agreements. Our products are being held up there,” said Ahmed al-Khalaf, chairman of International Projects Development Co and owner of a Qatari meat processing plant that imports materials from the UAE.
“We may not have many factories in Qatar but we have the money to buy from other sources.”
Millions of dollars of other goods and materials also come every month via Dubai’s Jebel Ali port which serves as a major re-export hub for the Gulf.
Turkey’s Foreign Minister MevlutCavusoglu praised the “wise and calm manner” in which Qatar has handled the Gulf crisis.
“All those we spoke to expressed their respect and appreciation of the Qatari position towards this crisis as well as Qatar’s ideal handling of the crisis, for which it earned the respect of all,” he said.
Cavusoglu noted that Turkey is exerting its utmost efforts to find solutions to this crisis.
Qatar National Bank (QNB), the largest lender in the Middle East and Africa had also not seen any impact on its overall group operations from its business in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the bank said in emailed answers to questions.
Last week, the UAE central bank urged banks in the UAE to act with caution in dealing with six Qatari lenders, including QNB.
“Individuals have a right to express a variety of perspectives on current events,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
“Governments don’t have the right to close down media outlets and criminalise speech to shut out criticism they find uncomfortable,” she said.
Salem bin Mubarak Al Shafi, Qatar’s ambassador to Turkey, told Anadolu news agency that anti-Qatar sanctions had “nothing to do with law, religion or morality”.
“Those who have tried to encircle us lost the moral high ground on the first day [of the sanctions] and lost the diplomatic war later,” he said, pointing to calls by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to raise the ongoing blockade on Qatar.
“Qatar is ready for sincere and constructive dialogue. But first they must withdraw [the sanctions] as we cannot negotiate when a gun is being held to our head.”
The department of cyber crime referred a case to the public prosecutor’s office in which “a person of interest had posted comments to social networks that constitute a violation” of a ban against sympathising with Qatar, said attorney general Ahmed al-Hammadi, head of Bahrain’s Terrorist Crimes Commission.
“The prosecution has begun investigating the matter, and the suspect has been interrogated and is being held in custody,” Hammadi said.
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“As far as we are concerned, it is business as usual,” Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker said.
“We call upon the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to declare this [restrictions] an illegal act. We are not a political body, we are an airline, and this blockade has stripped us of the rights which are guaranteed to us.”
The UAE and Bahrain appear to be violating people’s human rights by threatening to jail or fine them for expressing sympathy for Qatar, UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al Hussein said.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, which have branded dozens of people and entities with alleged links to Qatar as “terrorists”, must respect citizens’ rights, Zeid said.
He said directives issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to address the humanitarian needs of families with joint nationalities appeared to be inadequate, and his office had received reports of specific individuals being ordered to return home or to leave the country they are residing in.
Turkey is working to help resolve the issue through diplomacy, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said.
Speaking at a press conference, Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey was sending food assistance to Qatar.
Kalin also said a Turkish military base in Qatar, set up before the regional spat, was established to ensure the security of the whole region and did not have an aim of any military action against any country.
Together with Turkey and the US, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been major sponsors of the anti-Assad battle.
“God forbid if this crisis is not contained I predict … the situation in Syria will become tragic because the factions that are supported by [different] countries will be forced to take hostile positions towards each other,” said Mustafa Sejari of the Liwa al Mutasem rebel group in northern Syria.
A Syrian opposition source familiar with foreign support to the rebels said: “[The Gulf crisis] will increase the split between north and south, as the north is mainly funded by Qatar and Turkey, and the south is supported by Jordan and the (US-led) coalition.”
The United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United States said on Tuesday the Gulf countries that cut ties with Qatar will hand over the list of demands to Washington “fairly soon”.
Progress has been made towards resolving the crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours after senior US officials met leading players in the standoff, the State Department said on Tuesday.
“I would characterise the mood and the approach to that as being one that is hopeful, that believes that the worst is behind us,” said spokeswoman Heather Nauert.
Turkey will send its foreign minister to Doha on Wednesday and then if possible to Saudi Arabia in a diplomatic push to help end the Gulf crisis.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will meet his Qatari counterpart and the country’s emir, the foreign ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited Kuwait on Tuesday to discuss the crises of the region with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, according to Kuwait’s official KUNA news agency.
“The two sides discussed means of promoting Arab unity and joint action, along with the importance of reaching political solutions to the region’s crises,” KUNA reported.
King Abdullah’s delegation included Jordanian Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki, chief of staff of the Jordanian Royal Court Fayez Al-Tarawneh and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.
The air embargo imposed on Qatar applies only to airlines from Qatar or registered there, the United Arab Emirates Civil Aviation Authority said on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain issued identical statements on the air embargo, which came into effect when Riyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama broke off relations with Qatar on June 5.
The embargo bans “all Qatari aviation companies and aircraft registered in the state of Qatar” from landing or transiting through the airspace of the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, according to the statements published by the national agencies of the three Gulf countries.
The three Gulf states’ ban does not apply to aviation companies and aircraft not registered in Qatar and the three neighbouring countries, and which wish to cross their airspace to and from Qatar, they said.
An exception is made for private planes and charter flights to or from Qatar, which require permission to transit through the airspace of the three Gulf countries, the statements said.
A permission request must be submitted 24 hours in advance and include a list of the names and nationalities of both crew and passengers, as well as the nature of any cargo.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI has expressed his “full support” for ongoing efforts by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah to resolve the Gulf crisis.
The statement came in a verbal message conveyed by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to Sheikh Sabah, who received him in Kuwait City on Tuesday.
“In his message, the Moroccan king stressed the importance of containing the Gulf crisis and resolving differences through dialogue between brotherly countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” Kuwait’s official news agency reported.
Egypt will allow airlines and aircraft that are not registered in Egypt or Qatar to use its airspace to fly to and from Qatar, the civil aviation ministry said on Tuesday.
A ban on flights to and from Egypt by Qatari planes remains in force, however.
Fahad bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, Qatar’s ambassador to Russia, has spoken to Al Jazeera from Moscow discussing anti-Qatar measures in the Gulf.
He said: “It is not a diplomatic rift as most people want to present, this is really an illegal blockade…”
“If [the crisis] is not resolved through mediation I think it should go to the [UN] Security Council and in that instance I think the members of the Security Council such as the US, Russia and other players will probably have to intervene to undo the violations to begin with. First of all condemn it and then undo it and then call the parties to come around the table of dialogue,” he said.
Iraq is opposed to the isolation of Qatar by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab neighbours because it hurts ordinary citizens, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday.
Abadi is due to travel to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks with Saudi King Salman.
“Regimes are not affected by the blockade; the blockade hurts people,” Abadi told reporters in Baghdad.
Abadi said he would seek clarification from Saudi Arabia about the accusations made against Qatar.
Qatar, the world’s second largest helium producer, has closed its two helium production plants because of the economic boycott imposed on it by its neighbours, industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The helium plants operated by RasGas, a subsidiary of state-owned Qatar Petroleum, were shut because Saudi Arabia closed its border with Qatar, blocking overland exports of the gas, a Qatar Petroleum official told Reuters.
The official declined to be named under briefing rules. Phil Kornbluth, head of US-based industry consultants Kornbluth Helium Consulting said his sources had confirmed the closure.
The two plants have a combined annual production capacity of approximately 2 billion standard cubic feet of liquid helium and can meet about 25 percent of total world demand for the gas, according to RasGas’ website.
Among its uses, helium is used to cool superconducting magnets in medical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, as a lifting gas in balloons and airships, as a gas to breathe in deep-sea diving and to keep satellite instruments cool. It is derived from natural gas during processing.
A rift between Qatar and other Arab states is not affecting US military operations, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.
“We are watching that very, very closely but we have had good cooperation from all the parties to make sure that we can continue to move freely in and out of Qatar,” Joseph Dunford told a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.
Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi foreign minister, said in Washington, DC, while posing for photographs with US State Secretary Rex Tillerson who called anti-Qatar measures “a blockade” last week:
“There is no blockade of Qatar. Qatar is free to… The ports are open, the airports are open. What we have done is, we have denied them the use of our airspace and this is our sovereign right.
The limitation of the use of the Saudi airspace is only limited to Qatar Airways or Qatari owned aircraft, not anybody else. The sea ports of Qatar are open. There is no blockade on them.
The US ambassador to Qatar took to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm that her posting will come to an end this month.
“This month, I end my 3 years as US Ambassador to #Qatar. It has been the greatest honor of my life and I’ll miss this great country,” Dana Shell Smith said on Tuesday.
A State Department spokesperson said the ambassador will depart “Qatar later this month as part of the normal rotation of career diplomats throughout the world. Her decision to leave the Foreign Service was made earlier this year and we wish her the best as she moves on from the Department of State”.
Russia has warned that the blockade against Qatar by Saudi Arabia and its allies would make it harder to reach a peaceful end to the war in Syria, after President Vladimir Putin discussed the crisis with Saudi King Salman.
In a phone discussion, the two leaders “touched on the aggravated situation around Qatar, which unfortunately does not help consolidate joint efforts in resolving the conflict in Syria and fighting the terrorist threat,” the Kremlin said in a statement after the call.
Qatar’s Qatalum aluminium plant is now exporting metals via ports in Kuwait and Oman, as well as a Qatari container port, the chief executive of Norsk Hydro told Reuters news agency.
Hydro owns owns 50 percent of the Qatalum plant, which produces more than 600,000 tonnes of primary aluminium per year.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to take a leading role in resolving the ongoing Gulf crisis with Qatar.
“Qatar along with Turkey is a country that took the most determined stand against the terrorist organisation, Daesh,” he said.
The president said it appears some countries have already decided to hand down the death penalty to Qatar and urged Saudi Arabia to reconsider the harsh steps against it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Arab states were now viewing Israel as a partner instead of an enemy.
Following a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has “reaffirmed the strong commitment of the people and the government of Pakistan for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Kingdom”.
A press release from the PM office also said “the Kingdom had a very special place in the hearts of Pakistanis and that the Muslim world looked upto the King as the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”.
Al Jazeera Media Network is an “internal affair” and there will be no discussion about the fate of the Doha-based broadcaster with nations that imposed a blockade on Qatar, its Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said at a press conference in Paris on Monday.
He said Qatar does not accept “foreign dictations”. “Doha rejects discussing any matter related to Al Jazeera channel as it considers it an internal affair,” Qatar News Agency quoted the foreign minister as saying.
“Decisions concerning the Qatari internal affairs are Qatari sovereignty – and no one has to interfere with them.”
Measures taken by the Saudi-led bloc of nations to deal with their blockade’s impact on Qatari families are “vague and insufficient” and do not address the human rights situation, Amnesty International said.
The comments came during the meeting between Qatar’s Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) Ali bin Samikh Al Marri and Salil Shetty, secretary-general of Amnesty International in London.
A senior Palestinian journalist said Qataris’ “strong solidarity” had managed to keep the nation’s economy stable, despite the ongoing blockade by several Gulf countries. Wadah Khanfar, president of Al Sharq Forum and former director-general of Al Jazeera Media Network, said the boycotting countries had expected Qatar to “be intimidated and surrender” immediately.
“That was not the case as the administration and people showed strong solidarity, therefore, basic human needs in the country were not negatively affected,” said Khanfar.
He said all the boycotting measures were taken at once and there is “nothing else left to do against the country”, he told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency. “You cannot be successful. You will be weak strategically and politically. This blockade will fail.”
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has held a joint meeting with Saudi Ambassador Waleed A Elkhereiji, Emirati Ambassador Khalifa Shaheen Almarar and Bahrain’s Acting Ambassador Komail Ahmed in the capital Ankara amid the escalating Gulf crisis, according to a Turkish diplomatic source.
Cavusoglu raised concerns of Turkey and expectations from the international community over the crisis at the meeting.
He also mentioned the contacts he made to resolve the issue, the source said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to brief the media.
Despite previously close ties with Qatar, the Eritrean information ministry has issued a statement praising steps taken against Qatar as “one initiative among many in the right direction that envisages full realisation of regional security and stability”.
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has said it was difficult for him to see the crisis among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council almost four decades after participating in building the alliance.
“It is quite difficult for us, the generation that built the GCC 37 years ago, to see the divisions among its members which may lead to undesirable consequences,” he was quoted as saying by the state news agency Kuna.
He also said: “Almost four decades ago, I lived the first moments of building the GCC and this is why I cannot stand silent without trying to mediate for the rapprochement among the brothers. It is a duty that I cannot walk away from.”
“No matter how difficult the efforts, I will do my best to mediate among the brothers,” he said.
Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the UAE, has said on Twitter: “After much effort to internationalise the crisis with its brothers, after [Qatar kept] drumming up its media and screaming it is oppressed, our brother [Qatar] will soon realise the solution is in Riyadh and at [the hands of King] Salman.”
The comment came a week after Qatar’s foreign ministry said in its statement: “The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its [Qatar’s] sovereignty as a state.”
Morocco has decided to send airplanes loaded with food products to Qatar, according to the country’s foreign ministry statement.
The document said King Mohammed VI instructed the government to do so “in accordance with our Islamic teachings especially in the holy month of Ramadan”.
It stressed that the move was not connected to the Gulf crisis.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arrived in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah for a “consultation” with the Saudi leadership over the Gulf crisis, according to local media.
Sharif, who enjoys equally good relations with the Saudi and Qatari royal families, will address the “emergent situation among the [Gulf Cooperation Council] GCC countries”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
He was accompanied by Pakistan’s army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and his foreign affairs adviser, Sartaj Aziz.
Oman welcomed a decision by three Gulf countries to give special consideration to families with Qatari spouses and children on Monday, after they cut ties with Qatar last week and expelled Qatari nationals from their countries.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain announced hotlines to help the mixed families on Sunday, a step Oman said would aid “humanitarian cases of families shared between them and Qatar” in a statement on state news agency ONA.
“It is considered by the Sultanate to be a good step toward calm,” the statement said.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron spoke with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, who is leading mediation efforts to patch the rift between Qatar and Arab states.
Macron has held a series of conversations over the past week with the Emir of Qatar, the king of Saudi Arabia, the Turkish president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
Earlier on Monday, Macron’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian met with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who said Qatar supported Kuwait’s mediation efforts and was ready to engage in talks that conform with international law.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Monday denounced the sanctions imposed against Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies as “unfair” and “illegal”.
“Whatever relates to our foreign affairs… no one has the right to discuss,” Sheikh Mohammed said during a visit to Paris.
“Qatar is willing to sit and negotiate about whatever is related to Gulf security,” he said.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he would urge Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain along with Egypt “to ease the blockade on Qatar”.
“I call on all states to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation and to find a rapid resolution through mediation.”
A Qatari food company owner said shipments began arriving on Sunday from Oman, and that about 12 vessels were headed to Qatar from Sohar and Salalah.
“There are around 300 containers of fresh and frozen food coming. Some have arrived and the others are on their way,” Ahmed al-Khalaf said.
He said containers at Jebel Ali port of the United Arab Emirates were still stuck, but that others, including from Europe, were being diverted to Oman’s ports.
The world’s number 1 container line, Maersk of Denmark, said on Monday it would accept new bookings for container shipments to Qatar from Oman.
Swiss-based MSC, the world’s number 2 line, said it would deploy a new dedicated shipping service to Qatar from Salalah.
Saudi Arabia’s Flynas has waded into the kingdom’s row with Qatar, making a pitch to poach Saudi staff working for the much larger Qatar Airways.
In a post on Twitter on Monday, the small budget airline says it welcomes applications from Saudi nationals working for Qatar Airways on the Airbus A320.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation, a UN agency which administers the Chicago convention that guarantees civil overflights, should declare Gulf Arab measures against Qatari air traffic as illegal, the chief executive of Qatar Airways said in comments to CNN published on Monday.
“We have legal channels to object to this,” Akbar Al Baker said. “ICAO… should heavily get involved, put their weight behind this to declare this an illegal act.”
The UAE and Bahrain have signed the convention. Saudi Arabia is not a signatory.
Italy and Qatar agreed on Monday to continue their close economic and financial cooperation, the two countries’ said in a statement on Monday that signalled Italian support for Qatar during the Gulf crisis.
Qatari Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi met Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan in Rome on the first leg of a tour of major Western capitals that will also take him to Paris, London, Berlin and Washington.
“The meeting took place in a highly cordial atmosphere, in line with the excellent state of political and economic relations between the two countries,” the joint Qatari-Italian statement said.
In a weekly news conference in Tehran, Bahram Ghasemi, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, said Qatar and its neighbours should “try to settle their differences at the negotiating table”.
Ghasemi also said the countries involved “should move toward peace and stability in the region and we invite them to negotiating and exercising restraint”.
In further news over Qatar’s economy, the central bank says transactions at home and abroad continue normally.
In a statement released on Qatar’s state-run news agency, QNA, the bank said its central governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al-Thani dismissed concerned over liquidity levels.
Reuters news agency reports that Qatar’s financial markets have recovered following a week of losses after the blockade was announced.
The report came as the gas-rich country’s finance minister said that Qatar’s economy would be able survive the blockade, because of significant reserves and investment.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani confirmed that Qatar and the US are in contact with Kuwait, which is leading mediation efforts.
Speaking from London where he is due to meet Boris Johnson, his British counterpart, the minister also said: “Diplomatic dialogue is the solution, but it needs foundations not yet available. We’re focused on solving humanitarian problems resulting from the illegal blockade.”
He called on countries to support the efforts of Kuwait’s emir in finding a solution, and invited “friendly states” to participate in that effort.
Abu-Dhabi’s The National newspaper says Qataris married to Emiratis will not be deported, one week after the UAE said it would give Qataris 14 days to leave the country.
The government-sponsored broadsheet, which did not provide a source, also said Qataris who were “immediate relatives of Emiratis” could “pass through”.
Qatar previously dismissed a telephone hotline to assist mixed-citizenship families as “little more than a face-saving exercise”.
The Azerbaijan Institute for Democracy and Human Rights has called for countries opposing Qatar to lift their blockade against the peninsula, saying the punishing measures are in violation of international law.
“The recent crisis in the Gulf region serves only those who are gaining something from the instability in the Middle East,” the group said. “Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE are toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples’ livelihoods and education.”
The organisation also condemned ‘strong violation of media freedom’ as the Gulf states have attempted to censor the Al Jazeera Media Network.
The office of French President Emmanuel Macron is attempting to reconcile tensions between Qatar and its neighbours.
The president says he has held a series of calls with the emir of Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s king, Turkey’s president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, foreign minister, is scheduled to hold talks with his Qatari counterpart on Monday.
Ali Sherif al-Emadi told CNBC that the economy of gas-rich Qatar, which has significant reserves and investment funds, will not be harmed by sanctions.
“We are extremely comfortable with our positions, our investments and liquidity in our systems,” he said.
Qatar Ports Management has launched a new direct service linking Hamad port in the Qatari capital with Sohar Port in the Sultanate of Oman.
At a news conference held at Hamad Port, Qatar Ports Management said: “In light of the recent developments in the region, Mwani Qatar (Qatar Ports Management) and its partners have ensured the business continuity of its ports and shipping operations in and out of Qatar to mitigate the impact of any action that would affect the imports and exports to and from the country.”
The service will operate three times a week and journeys will take up to one and a half days.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said he does not believe the diplomatic crisis which involves 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar will threaten its hosting of the tournament.
In an interview published in Swiss newspapers Le Matin Dimanche and Sonntagszeitung, Infantino said he expects the diplomatic situation will be back to normal by the time the tournament is played in five and a half years time.
Infantino said that FIFA was watching the situation and was in regular contact with the Qatari authorities.
Nationals of countries that cut diplomatic ties with Qatar this week are free to remain in the Gulf state.
There is no change in policy towards the nationals of “brotherly and friendly countries which cut or reduced diplomatic relations following the malicious and hostile campaigns against Qatar,” Qatar’s state news agency (QNA) reports.
Iran is sending two warships to Oman before they start their mission in international waters near the coast of Yemen, the country’s navy says.
The two ships, an Alborz destroyer and a Bushehr logistics warship, will go to the north of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.
The Gulf of Aden is a strategic shipping lane which connects the Indian ocean with the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
Iraq’s prime minister has rejected Saudi and UAE media claims that a $500m ransom was paid by Qatar to Shia Muslim armed groups in Iraq to secure the release of 26 kidnapped Qatari hunters.
Haider al-Abadi said the money was received by the Iraqi government and that the sum was still in the Iraqi central bank.
He added that the money was “never cashed out”.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee has called a Saudi, UAE and Bahrain initiative to assist mixed-citizenship families who face the prospect of being split up, a “face-saving” exercise.
It said a hotline set up by the three countries to assist mixed Qatari families who faced the prospect of deportation and expulsion was “too vague to have any practical impact” and was “void of a mechanism to be of assistance to those affected”.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov call for dialogue over Qatar-GCC dispute.
It noted that “Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillerson pointed to the need of resolving disagreements through negotiations and expressed their willingness to contribute to such efforts.”
Qatar hosted the Taliban at the request of the US government, the special envoy on counterterrorism for Qatar’s foreign minister told Al Jazeera.
He added that Qatar “was facilitating the talks between the Americans, the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan”.
Human rights group Amnesty International has condemned the blockade taken by Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain against Qatar, saying the countries are toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar.
On Monday, the three Gulf countries ordered Qatari nationals to leave their countries within 14 days.
Their citizens were also given the same time to leave Qatar. As a result, hundreds of mixed families are facing the grim prospect of being separated from their loved ones.
The US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to ease their blockade on Qatar, saying it is causing unintended humanitarian consequences.
So how can human rights be protected in the political crisis? Watch Inside Story here.
Kuwait on Sunday said that Qatar was willing to hold a dialogue with Gulf Arab countries that cut ties with it and was ready to listen to their concerns, in the latest twist of a major diplomatic rift.
“[Kuwait] affirms the readiness of the brothers in Qatar to understand the reality of the qualms and concerns of their brothers and to heed the noble endeavours to enhance security and stability,” Kuwait’s state-run KUNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah as saying on Sunday.
Ethiopia said it backs Kuwait’s mediation efforts to end the Qatar-Gulf diplomatic dispute, adding that it will play a constructive role for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.
In a statement carried by state media on Saturday, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said it did not support any kind of negative media reports that incite instability in countries.
The ministry also said it will continue working together with countries to fight against the “global threat of terrorism”.
Kuwait and Oman, also members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, did not join Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in severing ties with Qatar. In recent days, Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has held talks with Gulf leaders as part of an initiative to resolve the crisis.
The official overseer of Qatar’s charities rejected allegations that charitable groups in the country supported “terrorism” following the release of a blacklist by four Arab countries.
“The Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA) deplores the accusation that Qatari humanitarian organisations support terrorism,” the body said in an official statement on Sunday.
RACA has succeeded in protecting NGOs based in Doha “from the risk of being exploited to launder money and finance terrorism”, it said, adding that it is prepared to take legal action against the Arab states to protect the humanitarian work its charities do.
Iran’s national carrier says that five planes of food exports, including fruit and vegetables, have been sent to Qatar, which has been hit by a land, air and sea blockade imposed by three Arab Gulf countries.
Each aircraft carried about 90 tonnes of cargo, “while another plane will be sent today”, Iran Air spokesman Shahrokh Noushabadi told the AFP news agency on Sunday.
Three ships loaded with 350 tonnes of food were also set to leave an Iranian port for Qatar, the Tasnim news agency quoted a local official as saying.
Food imports were affected after Saudi Arabia ordered the closure of Qatar’s only land border.
Qatar, which relies heavily on food imports, assured residents it has taken measures to ensure that normal life continues.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which have cut ties with Qatar, announced via state media on Sunday the creation of hotlines to help families with Qatari members.
The statements carried by their official news agencies did not specify what services the hotline would provide.
The moves against Qatar include a land, air and sea blockade, as well as a ban on Qatari citizens from entering the three countries. Qatari nationals were also ordered to leave within 14 days, leaving hundreds of mixed-citizenship Qatari couples with the grim prospect of being split from their families.
Amnesty International criticised the measures as sweeping and arbitrary and said they had split up families and destroyed peoples’ livelihoods and education. Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee has also said that the Saudi-led move went far beyond a simple diplomatic dispute and will break up families and disrupt young people’s education.
Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s prime minister, said on Saturday the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf could turn into a global problem if tensions flare.
“A new problem area that may be created here [in Qatar] would not be limited inside the region,” Yildirim told a fast-breaking dinner in Istanbul.
“The risk of this issue becoming a global problem is very high due to the geostrategic nature of the region. We call on the parties in the tension to act responsibly and contribute to reducing the tension rather than increasing it.”
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has previously requested the full removal of a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar and has approved the deployment of Turkish troops there.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) is working to hire an international law firm to handle cases related to Qatari and Gulf Cooperation Council citizens who sought legal help after being affected by the blockade and embargo imposed on Qatar.
Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, NHRC chairman, said the law firm will sue and request damages from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain at national courts, Qatar News Agency reported.
The Al Sharq newspaper reported that Qatar’s National Commission for Human Rights (NHRC) received a complaint from a Qatari citizen that Qatari pilgrims were barred from entering the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca.
Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, the NHRC head, called the reported incident a flagrant violation of the right to practise religious rites as permitted by human rights conventions.
Nationals of countries that cut diplomatic ties with Qatar this week are free to remain in the Gulf state in line with existing regulations, according to a statement carried by Qatar state news agency.
The statement, attributed to the Ministry of Interior, said there was no change in policy towards the nationals of “brotherly and friendly countries which cut or reduced diplomatic relations following the malicious and hostile campaigns against Qatar”.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, foreign minister of Qatar, has said Hamas is a “legitimate resistance movement” and “not a terrorist organisation as viewed by the US”.
“We do not support Hamas, we support the Palestinian people,” he said.
Musa Abu Marzouk, senior Hamas leader, commenting on the Gulf diplomatic crisis, has said that “Arab differences are internal affairs”.
“The Hamas focus will remain directed towards Palestine and Jerusalem, and towards national unity and the cohesion of the Palestinian people,” Marzouk, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, told a news conference in Beirut after meeting with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain on Monday cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting “terrorists” – a charge Qatar denies.
“It is supposed that no one should differ over supporting the Palestinian cause,” he said, adding that “our weapons will remain directed solely at the Zionist enemy [Israel] which we will continue to resist”.
Russia called on Saturday for dialogue to resolve the dispute between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours.
“We cannot be happy in a situation when the relations between our partners are worsening,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
“We are in favour of resolving any disagreements through … dialogue.”
Russia is “ready to try to do everything in its power” to help to resolve the crisis.
The dispute between Qatar and other Arab states could lead to war, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told a newspaper on Saturday, adding that he still saw a chance to defuse the tension.
“There is a danger that this dispute could lead to war,” Gabriel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, citing what he called a “dramatic” harshness in relations between allied and neighbouring countries in the Gulf.
The minister said personal talks this week with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, and phone calls with the foreign ministers of Iran and Kuwait underscored his concerns.
“After my talks this week, I know how serious the situation is, but I believe there are also good chances to make progress.”
Turkey’s military base in Qatar is aimed at contributing to the security of the entire Gulf region and not aimed at a specific Gulf state, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Saturday.
In a joint news conference with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid bin Al Khalifa, Cavusoglu said Turkey would continue its efforts to resolve the Gulf dispute.
Cavusoglu also said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Bahraini foreign minister that the dispute between Qatar and other Arab states should be resolved by the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Qatar Petroleum (QP) said on Saturday that it was conducting “business as usual” throughout its upstream, midstream and downstream operations, despite rising diplomatic tensions with its Gulf neighbours.
QP was prepared to take any “necessary decisions and measures, should the need arise, to ensure that it honored commitments to customers and partners”, the statement said.
Qatar is the world’s biggest liquefied natural gas producer and accounts for more than 30 percent of global trade.
Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has praised US President Donald Trump for his role in “the formation of a united front to combat terrorism”.
Sisi’s praise-filled phone call on Saturday came after Trump echoed accusations made against Qatar by a Saudi-led group that cut diplomatic ties with Qatar earlier this week.
Sisi thanked Trump for his participation in a counterterrorism summit in Riyadh last May, in which he vowed to “fight terrorism in partnership with Middle East leaders”.
Niger announced it had recalled its ambassador to Qatar following the latest developments in the Gulf.
The foreign ministry issued a statement expressing “its solidarity” with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies, which on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting “extremists” – a charge strongly denied by Qatar.
After holding talks in Germany on Friday, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s foreign minister, met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow.
The two diplomats are not expected to hold a news conference after the talks, but spoke briefly in front of cameras at the start of their meeting.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said only dialogue will resolve the dispute, adding that “the Gulf Cooperation Council is the right platform to achieve this”.
For his part, Lavrov also called for talks to end the crisis. “We call for all contradictions to be resolved at the negotiation table through a mutually respectful dialogue,” the Russian foreign minister said, adding that Arab states should unite to effectively fight “terrorism”.
“As a matter of policy we do not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries or their bilateral relations with each other. But it does not give us joy when relations between our partners deteriorate,” Lavrov said.
“The position of Russia and the moment seems to be ‘yes, we’ll listen to you but we don’t want to take sides,'” said Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands, reporting from Moscow.
With the US administration sending mixed signals in regard to its stance to the crisis, Saudi Arabia, via a statement on its state media, welcomed US President Donald Trump’s call on Qatar and other countries to increase their efforts against “terrorism”, but did not respond to a state department request to ease pressure on its neighbour.
Just minutes before Trump’s speech on Friday, Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, had urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to ease their blockade on Qatar, saying it is causing unintended humanitarian consequences and affecting the US-led fight against ISIL.
Tillerson also said that Qatar has a history of supporting groups across a wide political spectrum, including those that engage in violence, and that the emir of Qatar had made progress in halting financial support for “terrorism” but that he must do more.
A separate report on Saudi’s state-run news agency SPA acknowledged Tillerson’s call for Qatar to curtail support for “terrorism”, but did not mention his remarks that the crisis was hurting ordinary Qataris, impairing business activities and harming the fight against ISIL.
Khalid al-Falih, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, said the decision by the kingdom and some of its allies to severe ties with Qatar this week would not affect a pact by global oil producers to reduce output.
“I don’t expect the diplomatic and political issues that have surfaced with Qatar to have any impact whatsoever on the oil production agreement,” Falih told reporters in Kazakhstan.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her concern about the situation in Qatar, saying that all Gulf countries, and also Iran and Turkey, should work together to end the regional crisis.
“We have to see that the political solution of conflicts … such as the situation in Syria, such as the situation in Libya or the situation in Iraq, won’t happen if certain players are no longer even included in the conversation, and that includes Qatar, it includes Turkey, it includes Iran,” said Merkel, speaking alongside Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto during a visit to Mexico City.
Merkel said she wanted the balance of power to be maintained “sensibly” in the region, and that security would be on the agenda when G20 leaders meet next month in the German city of Hamburg.
Eritrea declined a request by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.
The African nation’s foreign ministry said in a statement it “rejected” the demand to cut ties “with brother Doha”.
It said Eritrea had “strong ties with the brother people of Qatar”, and it was “impossible to cut ties”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reaffirmed his backing for Qatar in its dispute with other Gulf nations, saying Turkey would never leave the country isolated.
Delivering a speech at a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner in Istanbul, Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey would provide food and medicine to help Qatar ease its isolation despite the other nations’ “displeasure”.
He called on Saudi Arabia and other countries of the region to end their sanctions, rejecting accusations by these countries that Qatar supports “terror groups”.
Referring to a statement by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling on the Arab nations to immediately ease their blockade of Qatar, Erdogan said: “I say let’s lift it entirely.”.
On Wednesday, Turkey’s parliament passed legislation permitting the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE are toying with the lives of thousands of Gulf residents as part of their dispute with Qatar, splitting up families and destroying peoples’ livelihoods and education, Amnesty International said on Friday.
The organisation’s researchers have interviewed dozens of people whose human rights have been affected by a series of sweeping measures imposed in an arbitrary manner by the three Gulf countries in their dispute with Qatar.
“These drastic measures are already having a brutal effect, splitting children from parents and husbands from wives. People from across the region – not only from Qatar, but also from the states implementing these measures – risk losing jobs and having their education disrupted. All the states involved in this dispute must ensure their actions do not lead to human rights violations,” said James Lynch, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Global Issues Programme, who was in Doha last week.
Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee presented 300 international and regional organisations with detailed reports that reveal the humanitarian conditions of the citizens of GCC countries as a result of the blockade in Qatar.
US President Donald Trump accuses Qatar of “funding terrorism” at “very high level” when speaking at the White House on Friday, where he was holding a joint news conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.
A blockade against Qatar by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states was not affecting current operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, but was “hindering” the ability to plan for long-term operations, the Pentagon said on Friday.
“While current operations from Al Udeid Air Base have not been interrupted or curtailed, the evolving situation is hindering our ability to plan for longer-term military operations,” Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement.
Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is home to more than 11,000 US and coalition forces and an important base for the fight against ISIL. He did not explain how exactly it was affecting planning for longer-term operations.
Davis said Qatar remained critical for air operations against ISIL.
US President Donald Trump spoke on Friday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and emphasised the importance of maintaining unity among Arab countries, the White House said in a statement.
It was the fourth call Trump has had with a regional leader since Gulf allies severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.
Rex Tillerson calls on Saudi Arabia, Egypt and UAE to ease the blockade against Qatar.
Tillerson says US urges no further escalation in Gulf crisis with Qatar.
Tillerson: Blockade hindering US military action against ISIL.
US expectation is that Gulf countries would immediately take steps to de-escalate the situation in region – Tillerson
The United Nations (UN) said it is bound only by the list of sanctions adopted by the organs of the United Nations and the Security Council.
This came in UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric’s response to a question about the list, made by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain, of the so-called “terrorist organisations and entities” featuring the name of Qatar Charity.
Dujarric said that the UN has signed significant work with Qatar Charity in Yemen, Iraq and Syria and said that they are coordinating the aid work together.
The spokesman said that in principle, the UN relies solely on the list of sanctions adopted by the UN Security Council, and the UN is not obliged to take into account any lists other than that.
UAE banks and other financial institutions have been instructed to search for and freeze any accounts or deposits or investments held by individuals or entities that are in the “terror list” issued by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt late on Thursday.
In another circular, the Central Bank advised banks and other financial institutions operating in the UAE to apply enhanced customer due diligence for any accounts they hold belonging to six Qatari banks.
A bank press statement said the two circulars were issued based on a UAE cabinet resolution designating 59 individuals and 12 entities as “terrorists or terrorist organisations”.
The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage issued a circular in the early hours of Friday, ordering all “tourist facilities” to remove satellite channels that include religious, political or moral violations, including the Al Jazeera Media Network.
The circular read: “All tourist facilities must commit to choosing the appropriate TV channels in line with the official Saudi TV channels … and not to operate channels deviant to the Islamic religion or the state’s policies, or morals.”
It added: “The authority ensures the importance of removing all the ‘Al Jazeera channels’ from the list of available channels in rooms and other tourism accommodation facilities in order to prevent anyone who violates this circular from facing penalties, which could amount to 100,000 Saudi riyals ($26,600) or the revocation of their license, or both.”
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German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel called for an end to the land, sea and air blockade imposed by Arab countries on Qatar after a meeting with Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Wolfenbuettel, Germany.
Gabriel also called for increased diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.
“We are convinced that now is the hour of diplomacy and we must talk to each other,” he told reporters
“Along with our American colleagues but above all our colleagues in the region, we must try to find solutions, especially lifting the sea and air blockades,” he said.
The UK-based Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR) called the Saudi bloc’s list “arbitrary”, saying it “was clearly made up arbitrarily, to serve political agendas, without relying on any evidence or an impartial judicial authority”.
AOHR also said: “The exact legal definition and crime of ‘terrorism’ needs to be determined by a neutral judicial authority, which is not available in these countries [Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain].”
The independent group also warned that the list violated clear laws against defamation, as the reputation of individuals and charitable organisations is put at risk.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Friday said the blockade of his country is a violation of international law.
“These procedures that were taken have clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law. They will not have a positive impact on the region but a negative one,” he said during a joint news conference with his German counterpart during a visit to Germany.
Qatar on Friday rejected allegations of supporting individuals and groups blacklisted as “terrorists” by a bloc of Arab neighbours that has imposed an economic blockade on it amid a major diplomatic fallout.
The Qatari government said the list of 59 people and 12 groups, with ties to Qatar, “reinforces allegations that hold no foundation”.
Despite mediation efforts led by Kuwait, the standoff continues five days into the dispute between Saudi and its allies, and Qatar. We look at some of the key points of the ongoing rift.
Economic blockade: Along with the severing of diplomatic ties, a Riyadh-led blockade was imposed against Doha. Saudi, which shares the only land border with Qatar, shut the crossing and halted transport of goods to its gas-rich neighbour. Saudi, UAE and Bahrain also closed their airspace to flights from and to Qatar. Qatari citizens were ordered out of the three countries and sea links were cut.
Turkey sending troops: Following the threats made against Qatar, its close ally Turkey voted to to accelerate the deployment of troops to its base in the peninsula.
Media attacks: As accusations heated up, Saudi signalled that it was escalating the row in the media sphere – first by shutting down the local office of the Doha-based Al Jazeera Media Network. Days before the diplomatic spat boiled over, Al Jazeera’s websites were already blocked in Saudi, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt.
Trump’s tweets: In the first hours of the diplomatic scuffle, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it was important that the GCC members remained “unified”. Tillerson’s assurances, however, were thrown into doubt after US President Donald Trump wrote a post on social media referencing Qatar when he said leaders of the Middle East had stated that they “would take a hard line on funding extremism”. He later made a phone call to Qatar’s leader to offer help in resolving the crisis. Instead of diffusing the already heated situation, Trump’s tweets only led to more discord.
‘Terror list’: On Thursday evening, a joint action by Saudi, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt placed 59 individuals and 12 organisations on a “terror list”. It includes the Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi and 18 prominent Qataris. On Friday, Qatar dismissed the list as “baseless” allegations that “hold no foundation in fact”.
Anwar Gargash, minister of state affairs for the United Arab Emirates, accused Qatar of escalating the crisis by seeking help from Turkey and Iran.
“The request for political protection from two non-Arab countries and military protection from one of them could be a new tragic and comic chapter,” he wrote on Twitter late on Thursday.
Gargash also called Qatar to “change its course” and “abandon its stubbornness”.
“We’ve got to be concerned about putting our thumb too heavily on one side of the scale when we are dealing with people in the region we want to maintain a relationship with,” Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Al Jazeera.
Four Arab countries that cut ties with Qatar designated dozens of people with alleged links to Doha as “terrorists”, intensifying a row that threatens the region’s stability.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain said in a statement published by the Saudi state news agency that 59 people – including Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi – and 12 entities, among them Qatari-funded charities, were named on the “terrorism” list.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan late on Thursday ratified two deals on deploying Turkish troops in Qatar and training the country’s military, according to the Turkish leader’s office. The deal on sending soldiers was signed in April in Doha. “The move aims to contribute to regional and world peace,” Anadolu news agency quoted the Turkish presidency as saying.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has travelled to Oman’s capital, Muscat, to hold talks with Omani officials, according to Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television.
No details have emerged about their discussions.
Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, has said on Twitter that Qatar is seeking help from Turkey and Iran for dealing with the diplomatic rift in the Gulf and it could bring “new tragic and comic chapter” in the crisis.
“The great escalation from the confusing and confused brother country and the request for political protection from two non-Arab countries and military protection from one of them could be a new tragic and comic chapter.”
Royal Dutch Shell has sent a replacement cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States to Dubai, shipping data shows, after a diplomatic row disrupted typical trade routes from Qatar.
Shell has a deal to supply the Dubai Supply Authority (DUSUP) with LNG which it typically sources from Qatar because of its proximity.
But bans on Qatari vessels entering ports in the United Arab Emirates, imposed after leading Arab powers severed diplomatic and transport links with Qatar on Monday, meant it had to source the LNG from elsewhere.
The Maran Gas Amphipolis tanker, carrying around 163,500 cubic metres of LNG produced in the US, was initially headed toward Kuwait’s port of Mina Al-Ahmadi but made a U-turn on Wednesday to head for Dubai’s port of Jebel Ali.
The tanker is currently unloading at DUSUP’s floating import terminal at Jebel Ali, data showed.
Two Qatari LNG tankers have changed course in the Gulf of Aden away from their expected destination of Britain, according to shipping intelligence firm Kpler and shipping data.
The Al Mafyar tanker, carrying about 262,000 cubic metres of LNG from Qatar, is no longer heading towards the Suez Canal, shipping data shows. Its new destination is unknown.
The Zarga tanker, with a capacity of 262,000 cubic metres, executed a U-turn and appears to be heading back in the direction from which it came, shipping data shows.
Sudan has said it will not take sides in the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf amid calls from Sudanese legislators to back Qatar.
Responding to questions from politicians on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour said he expected Gulf Arab states to overcome the crisis given the “strong relations and blood ties” between them.
Sudan also offered to mediate to defuse tensions, according to its state news agency.
Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said the Gulf rift is threatening the stability of the entire region.
He also said diplomacy was still Doha’s preferred option and there would never be a military solution to the problem.
Qatar had never experienced this type of hostility, even from an enemy country, he said.
“No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy.”
“We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy.”
He also said the Emir of Qatar would not travel to Washington for GCC crisis talks suggested by US President Donald Trump because he did not want to leave his country while it is “in blockade”.
Chad has recalled its ambassador from Qatar with the country’s foreign ministry calling states involved in the Gulf diplomatic crisis to use dialogue to resolve the dispute.
Bahrain is warning the island’s media outlets not to “publish or circulate anything that condones or justifies Qatari policies by any means”.
Bahrain’s information affairs ministry said on Thursday that those who do publish material sympathetic to Qatar “will be held responsible”.
The United Arab Emirates has blocked access to the website of Qatar Airways. It began on Thursday and follows the UAE blocking access to a series of Qatari media websites, including those of Al Jazeera media network.
Bahrain has reiterated on Thursday a demand that Qatar distance itself from Iran and stop support for “terrorist” groups. “Qatar has to redress its path and has to go back to all previous commitments, it has to stop media campaigns and has to distance itself from our number one enemy, Iran,” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa told Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. “It has to realise its interests are with us, not with another country that conspires against us, wants to dominate and divide us. It has to stop supporting terrorist organisations, Sunni or Shia, and its policy has to be for the benefit of its people.”
Pakistan’s government says it will continue to import LNG from Qatar under a 15-year $1bn deal signed last year.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Pakistan’s federal minister for petroleum and natural resources, said since no sanctions have been imposed on Qatar by the UN, Islamabad and Doha were bound to abide by the agreement.
Qatar’s stock index has rebounded in early trade after losing 9.7 percent since the start of the diplomatic crisis earlier this week.
The market was up 2.5 percent with all 17 companies that have a market capitalisation of more than $1bn rebounding.
Emirates Post Group has halted postal services to Qatar from all of its postal offices in the United Arab Emirates until further notice, the country’s state news agency reported. All as yet undelivered items will be returned with the corresponding postal fees according to procedures and regulations.
For the second time in 24 hours, French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday held a phone conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss efforts to solve the crisis in the Gulf. Macron expressed France’s readiness to act as a mediator and stressed the importance of dialogue to preserve stability in the region. The French president also spoke to Saudi King Salman and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and “invited all parties to pursue dialogue”.
A news report that Qatar’s military was put on high alert on the country’s southern border with Saudi Arabia is downplayed. “The ministry of defence is always on alert to protect the borders of the state of Qatar from a 360-degree approach – land, sea and air – 24 hours a day, every day of the year,” said a ministry statement sent to Al Jazeera.
US President Donald Trump spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, a White House statement said. “Most importantly, the leaders agreed on the importance of implementing agreements reached in Riyadh to counter extremism and to combat the funding of terrorist groups. Additionally, the president emphasised the importance of maintaining a united Gulf Cooperation Council to promote regional stability, but never at the expense of eliminating funding for radical extremism or defeating terrorism.”
Pakistan’s parliament has expressed its “deep concern” over the Gulf diplomatic rift, but government stops short of taking a side.
A resolution, passed by parliament on Thursday, called “upon all countries to show restraint and resolve all differences through dialogue”.
Nafees Zakaria, the Pakistani foreign office spokesman, also said on Thursday that “Pakistan believes in unity among Muslim countries and has made consistent and serious efforts for its promotion … We are therefore concerned at the situation.” Zakaria refused to comment on whether the country had taken any steps to mediate the crisis or was also considering severing ties with Qatar.
Pakistan’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and the UAE is based on close diplomatic ties, but also deep economic relations. In the past it has resisted pressure to wade into regional conflict in the Middle East.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also holds close ties with the ruling families in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“Of all Muslim nations, Pakistan is probably in the most difficult position,” James Dorsey, a specialist on Pakistan’s relations with Gulf countries, told Al Jazeera
“We are continuing to talk to multiple members in the region. We’ll continue to do that and monitor it,” Sarah Sanders, deputy White House press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has departed from Qatar’s capital, Doha, after meeting Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss the GCC crisis.
Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s foreign minister, said according to the Saudi newspaper Mecca: “The emir of Kuwait is a messenger of good, but the policies of Qatar have not granted his endeavours success. We will not hesitate to protect our interests and the road is open to any options to protect ourselves from Qatar.”
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has arrived in Qatar’s capital of Doha after a short trip to Dubai in an effort to mediate a solution to the Gulf diplomatic spat.
Reporters Without Borders has condemned Saudi Arabia’s decision to close the Riyadh office of Qatar’s Al Jazeera media network.
The media rights group, also known as RSF, said Al Jazeera was a “collateral victim of (the) diplomatic offensive against Qatar”.
The government body said: “Such decisions violate the private ownership rights since thousands in the GCC own residences, factories and business within the GCC and the travel ban will prevent them from attending to their business and carrying out their business and access to their properties. These sanctions also violate the citizens within the GCC their rights to health and work access.”
It also said: “National Committee for Human Rights in Qatar warn of more violations that may take place that can affect the peace and security of the GCC as a whole and the dangerous repercussions that these sanctions will lead to.”
US President Donald Trump has spoken by telephone with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, expressing readiness to participate in the efforts to resolve the crisis in the GCC.
The White House statement: “The president emphasised the importance of all countries in the region working together to prevent the financing of terrorist organisations and stop the promotion of extremist ideology. The president reiterated that a united Gulf Cooperation Council and a strong United States-Gulf Cooperation Council partnership are critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability. The president offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary.”
Turkey’s parliament has approved a legislation allowing its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.
The bill, first drafted in May, passed with 240 votes in favour, largely with support from the ruling AK Party and nationalist opposition MHP.
Anwar Gargash, the UAE foreign minister, has acknowledged that leaked emails published by news outlets from Emirati ambassador to the US were true.
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah met in Dubai with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to try and mediate a growing diplomatic rift over Qatar. No details have emerged about their discussions.
Senegal’s foreign ministry has recalled its ambassador from Qatar, saying it was acting in solidarity with other countries in the Gulf who had cut diplomatic ties with Doha.
Turkey’s parliament has begun debating legislation for increased military cooperation with Qatar in an apparent move to support the country amid its dispute with Saudi Arabia and other regional nations.
Separate bills for the training of military personnel and the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in Qatar were moved up parliament’s agenda on Wednesday.
Qatar Airways has chartered three flights on Oman Air to bring passengers from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to Qatar’s Doha. All passengers arrived safely home via Oman’s capital, Muscat, late on Tuesday, the airline said on Wednesday.
The airline has also organised a flight with Kuwait Airlines on Wednesday to transport remaining passengers from Saudi Arabia to Doha via Kuwait. The flight will depart at 19:15 local time on Wednesday.
Qatar Airways said it is supporting its staff affected by the situation in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt due to suspension of operations in those countries.
All passengers booked on affected flights will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination.
Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the UAE, has said “there’s nothing to negotiate” with Qatar, signalling that Arab countries trying to isolate Doha won’t back down.
Christophe Castaner, the French government spokesman, said his country was not taking sides in the Gulf spat, but said “Qatar must be completely transparent and answer precisely the questions that have been asked notably by its neighbours”.
Mehmet Buyukeksi, chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, has said that exporters stood ready to fill the gap after the UAE and Saudi Arabia cut trade ties with Qatar.
Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Authority has eased restrictions on cargoes going to and from Qatar, Reuters news agency reports.
A new circular states all vessels carrying the Qatari flag and vessels owned or operated by Qatar are not allowed into its petroleum port, removing a reference to vessels arriving from or destined to Qatar.
The UAE wants to change Qatar’s policies, not “its regime”, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said, citing a government official.
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has flown to Abu Dhabi to continue talks on resolving the Gulf crisis.
WATCH: Kuwaiti Emir returns from Saudi
Moscow has dismissed allegations that Russian hackers helped to spark the diplomatic crisis around Qatar, after CNN reported that US officials believed they planted a false news story.
“We’re getting tired of reacting to unsubstantiated banalities,” Andrei Krutskikh, a Kremlin adviser on cybersecurity, told the Interfax news agency.
“Whatever happens it is hackers. It’s a stale claim and as ever there is zero evidence, and conclusions are drawn before the incident is even investigated,” he said.
Abu Dhabi state-owned Etihad Airways said all travellers holding Qatari passports are currently prohibited from travelling to or transiting through the United Arab Emirates as part of government instructions.
Expatriates residing in Qatar and in possession of a Qatari residence visa will also not be eligible for visa on arrival in the UAE, Etihad spokesman said in an email.
“Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form,” Gulf News quoted UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as saying.
Offenders could be punished with a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams ($136,000), Gulf News reported.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that Qatar must sever ties with Hamas and its historic parent, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Hamas said in a statement early on Wednesday that Jubeir’s remarks “constitute a shock for our Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations.”
Qatari nationals will not be allowed to board Qantas flights to Dubai because the UAE has banned them from passing through its airports, an executive at the Australian airline has said.
The UAE had already said Qatari nationals would not be allowed to enter the country or cross its points of entry, although the practical effects on airline passengers had been unclear until now.
In a show of solidarity with Qatar, people in capital Nouakchott demonstrated outside the Qatari embassy against its government’s decision to severe ties with the Gulf state.
“All these issues are based on fabricated allegations. There is no proof,” Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani told Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi.
“There’s proof that Qatar is combating terrorism. In Riyadh, Qatar was commended on that. Our commitment to the US is a solid commitment, and our commitment to the region is also solid, so this is not a question,” the ambassador said.
ExxonMobil Corp says production and exports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar have not been affected.
The growing diplomatic rift has raised concerns about global access to Qatar’s LNG, especially after some regional ports in the Gulf said they would not accept Qatari-flagged vessels.
“The two leaders discussed the critical goals of preventing the financing of terrorist organisations and eliminating the promotion of extremism by any nation in the region,” according to a White House statement.
“The president underscored that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability.”
“The state of Qatar has linked its policies … in support of terrorist organisations and the propagation of extremist ideas,” said a statement from the ministry of foreign affairs of the West African country, a member of the Arab League.
US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis has spoken by phone with his Qatari counterpart. No details of the talks were given, Reuters news agency quoted a source as saying.
The Pentagon earlier renewed praise of Qatar for hosting a vital US air base and for its “enduring commitment to regional security”.
Royal Air Maroc has announced that it had to suspend transit flights via Doha to and from UAE, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt owing to the cancellation of flights from Qatar to these countries.
RAM’s direct flights continue to operate to and from Qatar to Morocco.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said “the sanctions taken against Qatar are not good”.
“Turkey will continue and develop our ties with Qatar, as with all our friends who have supported us in the most difficult moments,” he added in reference to last year’s failed coup.
Jordan has said it will downgrade its diplomatic representation with Qatar after examining the “cause of the crisis” in the Gulf.
The country also revoked the licence of Al Jazeera media network, Jordan’s government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said.
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah flies to Saudi Arabia to meet King Salman.
Al Sabah had asked Qatar’s emir to postpone speech, to give time to solve the crisis.
WATCH: Kuwaiti Emir returns from Saudi
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said the damage caused by economic measures taken by some Arab states against Qatar should convince it to change its policies.
Qatar must end its support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, the foreign minister said.
“We believe that common sense and logic and will convince Qatar to take the right steps,” Adel al-Jubeir said in Paris.
“The decisions that were made were very strong and will have a fairly large cost on Qatar and we do not believe that Qataris want to sustain those costs.”
The International Air Transport Association has called on the countries that acted against Qatar to restore air links with the country, warning of major travel disruptions.
“Of course, we accept that countries have the right to close their borders,” said IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac. “But connectivity with Qatar must be restored as quickly as possible.”
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a phone conversation that he plans to seek ways to reduce tensions between Qatar and its neighbours.
The Pentagon has said the US military is grateful for Qatar’s support of US army presence in the country and “enduring commitment to regional security”.
US President Donald Trump on Twitter: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off.”
“They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!”
The Philippine government temporarily has suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar, the labour secretary said. Silvestre Bello said there was no plan yet to repatriate more than 200,000 Filipino workers in Qatar.
For the first time since the crisis unfolded, Trump has weighed in. His tweet: “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”
According to the Saudi press, transport authorities in Saudi have cancelled Qatar Airways’ licence to operate in Saudi Arabia.
The authorities have also decided to close all Qatar’s Airways offices in the kingdom.
Authorities and telecommunications companies did not provide further details. BeIN acquired Al Jazeera’s sports channels in 2013.
“We need a guaranteed roadmap to rebuild confidence after our covenants were broken,” UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.
Gargash accused Doha of turning to “money and media and partisanship and extremism” in a series of tweets early on Tuesday. Qatar has denied the allegations.
Qatar’s stock market rebounded in early trade on Tuesday after plunging 7.3 percent on Monday.
The Qatari stock index was up 2.7 percent after half an hour of trade; it rose as much as 3.2 percent at one stage.
Exports of aluminium from the Qatalum metals plant in Qatar have been blocked by the UAE, Norway’s Norsk Hydro said.
Norsk Hydro owns a 50 percent stake on the Qatalum joint venture, which produces more than 600,000 tonnes per year of primary aluminium to customers in Asia, Europe and the United States.
“Most Qatalum shipments normally go through the large Jebel Ali port in UAE, but this port looks to be closed for all Qatar shipments from Tuesday morning,” Norsk Hydro said in a statement.
Qatar Airways has cancelled flights to Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates from Tuesday until further notice, the airline said on its website, a day after it had suspended flights to Saudi Arabia.
The airline said passengers holding a confirmed Qatar Airways ticket to any of the four countries between June 5 and July 6 are permitted to rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current departure date.
Qatar Airways said its offices will continue to operate as normal in affected countries until further notice.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with the leaders of Qatar, Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on lowering tensions, presidential sources said.
“The importance of regional peace and stability was underlined in the talks, as well as the importance of focusing on the path of diplomacy and dialogue to lower the current tension,” according to the sources.
“For us, the strategic choice of the state of Qatar is to solve any dispute through dialogue,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani tells Al Jazeera.
“Regarding the reasons for this escalation, honestly, we don’t know if there were real reasons for this crisis,” Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani tells Al Jazeera.
“There were no indications [of a crisis] whatsoever” in the latest GCC meeting, or the American-Islamic-Arab summit.
He said the emir of Kuwait was travelling to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to assist in “containing the crisis”.
Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will give a speech to the nation on Tuesday to address the situation.
He added there’s a big question mark over the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
“There was an unprecedented escalation from the [Gulf] mass media … but Qatar has not met this escalation with escalation.”
He warned that the Gulf Cooperation Council and the unity of the Gulf states have become under threat in light of the crises experienced by the region,
Military aircraft violates Qatari airspace. For the second time, a UAE military aircraft has violated Qatar’s airspace, according to a statement issued by Qatar’s foreign ministry on Saturday.
According to the statement, the violating military aircraft entered the Qatari airspace at 10:10am on Wednesday January 3, flying over the Special Economic Zone in Qatar.
From his side, the UAE’s Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash said that “the Qatari complaint about the UAE’s violation of its airspace is incorrect and confused.”
Qatar files complaint to UN. Qatar filed a complaint at the United Nations Security Council against the United Arab Emirates, citing an airspace violation.
The complaint emphasised that the entrance of a UAE military aircraft into Qatari airspace was a flagrant violation of Qatar’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”, as well as international law.