Qatar calls on United Nations to resolve Gulf crisis

CAIRO – 28 July 2017: Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdel Rahman Al-Thani asked on Thursday for the United Nations’ help to resolve the ongoing Gulf crisis.

Al-Thani said in a press statement after his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, that the international body has expressed its support for regional efforts led by Kuwait to resolve the dispute.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Wednesday, following Al-Thani’s meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, that Washington believes that direct talks between all of the parties is the best option for the situation to be resolved.

In that context, China's UN ambassador, Liu Jieyi, said that the Gulf crisis should be resolved among the brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), urging direct negotiation between the various sides to sort out any difficulties.

Qatar’s relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain have been strained since May 24 following a leaked statement attributed to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, criticizing Gulf foreign policy with Iran, describing it as “unwise.”

The Qatari position prompted the major Arab powers to adopt urgent and strict measures towards Doha. They initially closed their airspace and seaports for Qatari transportation, and then made 13 demands, which Qatar dismissed.

Last week, the quartet urged Qatar to commit to six principles on combating extremism and terrorism and negotiate a plan with specific measures to implement them.