Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Monday that Qatar does not mind holding a dialogue with other parties in the Gulf crisis, and will not set preconditions.
He noted that the other parties who are involved in this crisis are still taking unfair actions and measures against his country.
During a press conference with the Chief of the African Union Moussa Faki, Al Thani added that a “dialogue means commitment from the two parties in the crisis, but they keep on escalating and taking unfair measures against Qatar.”
On 5 June 2017, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain cut their diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar. The four Arab governments accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, backing Iran, and disturbing security and stability in the region, charges which Doha consistently denies.
The Qatari Minister said that he has discussed the updates of the crisis, and its impacts on regional security with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during his visit to the Middle East last week.
He added that the US official stressed the importance of restoring unity and stability in the Gulf region through the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Last week, Anthony Zinni, the US envoy who was tasked with resolving the Gulf crisis, quit his post and announced his failure in the mission.
Zinni’s mission included forming an Arab alliance to counter the Iranian influence in the Middle East. He stated that he witnessed an unwillingness from regional leaders to engage in a dialogue which aims to resolve the crisis.
Moreover, Al Thani said that his country does not feel the necessity to reopen its embassy in Syria, stressing that Doha still opposes Syria’s return to the Arab League. He added that normalising relations with the Syrian government is a normalisation with a war criminal.
