Blockade states issue statement over Gulf crisis

By Sami Anwar Rashad Ahmed and Gulsen Topcu


ISTANBUL

The four Arab countries that severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar issued a joint statement about the Gulf crisis on Friday.

The statement was made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt and reported by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

They said that any dialogue with Qatar must be unconditional, referring to the Kuwaiti Emir Jaber al-Ahmad remarks during his press conference with the U.S. President Donald Trump.

During the press conference, the Kuwaiti Emir said Qatar was ready to negotiate the list of 13 demands presented by the Saudi-led bloc. However, Qatar would not enter into a dialogue unless the embargo was lifted first.

The statement also praised President Trump's words that the only way to solve the crisis was to end the support for terror.

The inter-Arab diplomatic crisis began on June 5, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain collectively severed diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism in the region.

Doha denies the allegations, describing attempts to diplomatically isolate it as a violation of international law and its national sovereignty.

Kuwait has played a central role in attempting to resolve the crisis, dispatching a number of high-level emissaries to relay messages between Qatar and the states aligned against it.

The Saudi-led bloc has presented Qatar with a list of 13 demands that it says Doha must satisfy in order for relations to return to normal.

In a call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman last week, Trump urged all parties to find a solution to the crisis.

Shortly after the crisis broke out in June, Trump pointed the finger to Qatar for financing terrorism, publicly backing Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations in their effort to isolate the country.