Qatar emir ready for Gulf crisis talks with conditions

Qatar’s ruler said on Friday that the Gulf emirate is ready for talks to resolve a diplomatic crisis with a Saudi-led bloc so long as his country’s sovereignty is respected.

“We are open to dialogue to resolve the outstanding problems,” so long as Qatar’s “sovereignty is respected,” Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said in his first public comments since Saudi Arabia and its allies severed ties with the gas-rich emirate.

Sheikh Tamim insisted that any deal “must not take effect in the form of diktats but rather through mutual commitments undertaken by all the parties”.

On June 5, Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar accusing it of backing extremism and fostering ties with their Shia rival Iran. Doha denies the claim.

Kuwait has been trying to mediate the crisis and several top Western diplomats have toured the region to try to defuse the row, including US secretary of states Rex Tillerson.

AP Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim in his first televised speech since the crisis began.