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Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says Riyadh is seeking a way to resolve the three-year rift with its Gulf neighbour Qatar.
Commenting on the dispute on Saturday, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Saudi Arabia is continuing to find a way to end the blockade on Qatar, but he added it remains conditional on addressing security concerns.
The dispute dates from 2017 when Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and non-GCC member Egypt imposed a boycott on Qatar, severing diplomatic and transport ties, and accusing it of supporting “terrorism”. Qatar denies all allegations against it.
Last month, Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia was committed to finding a resolution.
“We continue to be willing to engage with our Qatari brothers and we hope that they are as committed to that engagement,” he said. “But we do need to address the legitimate security concerns of the quartet and I think there is a path toward that” with a solution “in the relatively near future”.
Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said last week there are no winners in the Gulf crisis, adding his country is hopeful it will end “at any moment”.
But Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the US, told Israeli media he did not believe a resolution was imminent.
“I don’t think it gets resolved anytime soon simply because I don’t think there has been any introspection,” al-Otaiba said.
Commenting on the dispute on Saturday, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said Saudi Arabia is continuing to find a way to end the blockade on Qatar, but he added it remains conditional on addressing security concerns.
The dispute dates from 2017 when Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and non-GCC member Egypt imposed a boycott on Qatar, severing diplomatic and transport ties, and accusing it of supporting “terrorism”. Qatar denies all allegations against it.
Last month, Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia was committed to finding a resolution.
“We continue to be willing to engage with our Qatari brothers and we hope that they are as committed to that engagement,” he said. “But we do need to address the legitimate security concerns of the quartet and I think there is a path toward that” with a solution “in the relatively near future”.
Qatar’s Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said last week there are no winners in the Gulf crisis, adding his country is hopeful it will end “at any moment”.
But Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to the US, told Israeli media he did not believe a resolution was imminent.
“I don’t think it gets resolved anytime soon simply because I don’t think there has been any introspection,” al-Otaiba said.
