Qatar hints at progress on Gulf crisis

ANKARA

Hinting at progress on the Gulf crisis, Qatar's foreign minister Friday said a solution to the crisis must be comprehensive, preserving the unity of the Gulf states.

Addressing the Rome Mediterranean Dialogue Forum, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said there is no connection between the Gulf crisis and the normalization of relations with Israel by some Gulf states.

"The Gulf crisis has nothing to do with the Abraham Accords or any normalization with Israel," Al Thani said, adding normalization with Israel at this time would not bring any benefits to the Palestinian people. He stressed a solution to the Gulf crisis based on mutual respect.

On Thursday, US daily New York Times reported that US President Donald Trump would like to resolve the Gulf crisis before he leaves office in January.

On Wednesday, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani held talks with the US president's senior adviser, Jared Kushner, and discussed regional developments in the Middle East.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Doha and imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the country over allegations of supporting terrorism and meddling in their internal affairs. Qatar denies the charges, and has voiced openness to a dialogue to end the impasse.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara