Qatar is ready to discuss the time and location of possible negotiations with the blockading Arab states after their response to US settlement initiatives voiced by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
The US State Department has openly supported Russia's efforts in settling the diplomatic conflict between Qatar and the four Arab states led by Saudi Arabia. Numerous attempts by the United States to reconcile its Middle Eastern allies have not yielded results. What could be behind such a twist?
Recently, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. His diplomatic tour was aimed at contributing to the settlement of a major crisis in the Gulf.
The decision of four Arab states to expand their campaign against Doha to individuals and entities with alleged links to Qatar’s support of terrorism is a "disappointing surprise," as it shows that those countries are not actually devoted to fighting terrorism themselves, Qatari Communications Director Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani said.
The European Union’s Foreign Affairs head Federica Mogherini has called on the Gulf countries to de-escalate the tensions and enter a direct dialogue amid the ongoing Qatari crisis. Sputnik spoke to an expert on Middle Eastern affairs about this issue.
Saudi Arabia's Ambassador in Moscow Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al Rassi reiterated on Wednesday the demand of several Arab states involved in diplomatic row with Qatar to shut down the Al Jazeera broadcaster, which they deem to be inciting extremism, in the interview with Sputnik.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt added nine people and nine organizations to its unified terrorist list over alleged ties to Qatar, local media reported Tuesday.
On July 16, The Washington Post published a leak from US intelligence officials that it was the United Arab Emirates who "orchestrated the hacking of Qatari websites," which sparked the regional crisis. Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Guller commented on the revelation, debating if the UAE is a new target or a new client of the US.
The Qatari ambassador to Russia, Fahad Mohammed Attiyah, said in an interview with Sputnik that Moscow would become one of Doha's major economic partners. The statement might be caused by the current isolation of Doha by its Arab neighbors. Russian political analysts explained what benefits the Persian diplomatic row might bring to both countries.
Qatari Ambassador to Russia Fahad Mohammed Attiyah said on Sunday that the consequences of the Gulf diplomatic row won't be felt in the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva and praised Moscow's role in solving the conflict.
The Qatari ambassador to Russia said on Sunday in an interview with Sputnik that US intelligence data show that the Middle East country's news agency had been hacked.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will embark on a tour to the Persian Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, on Sunday to discuss the developments regarding the diplomatic crisis between the four Arab states and Doha, as well as bilateral relations.
Commenting on the latest twist in the diplomatic row in the Persian Gulf, this time between Kuwait and Iran, Iranian political analysts spoke to Sputnik Iran, revealing who’s really behind this new development and which of the two countries will suffer the most from the consequences.
The countries boycotting Qatar over its alleged support of terrorism did not scale down its list of demands to Doha as claimed by some media reports, Bahrain's Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Saati told Sputnik on Friday.
The Gulf diplomatic crisis plays in the hands of Iran. Iran is using the current tensions in the Arab world to boost its political and economic influence in the Middle East, according to analyst Vladimir Sazhin.
The Arab states involved in the ongoing diplomatic row with Qatar have readjusted their demands for the country and now insist that talks with Doha can only proceed within the framework of the six principles of fighting terrorism adopted at the Cairo Summit, Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said.
A sixth group of Turkish troops arrived at a military base in the Qatari capital of Doha to take part in joint military exercises, media reported Wednesday.