Qatar's foreign minister today called for dialogue and insisted ties to the US would remain strong despite a diplomatic storm that has seen Saudi Arabia and others cut ties with Doha. In a speech broadcast on the Doha-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera in the early hours, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani also called for "a dialogue of openness and honesty" to resolve the crisis. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and the Maldives severed ties with Qatar yesterday over accusations it supported extremism. Qatar has denied the allegations, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to have hit the region in years. Kuwait, like Saudi and Qatar a powerful member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, has remained noticeably silent on the crisis.

Source: dna June 06, 2017 00:22 UTC