Qatar FM visits Kuwait as Gulf crisis continues

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani arrived in Kuwait yesterday for an unscheduled visit amid a Gulf crisis triggered by the cut-off of ties between Doha and four Arab states.The Qatari minister met Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah shortly to deliver a message from his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani about bilateral relations and latest regional and international developments, the official KUNA news agency said.

Earlier this month, Sheikh Sabah sent messages to the leaders of the four countries boycotting Qatar, in a move seen by the media as a new Kuwaiti initiative to resolve the crisis.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and severed air, land and sea links with it on June 5 after accusing it of backing extremist groups. Qatar strongly denies the charge and argues the isolation effort is politically motivated. They later issued a tough 13-point list of demands needed to resolve the crisis, including shutting down news outlets including Al-Jazeera, limiting ties with Iran and expelling Turkish troops stationed in the country. Qatar refused to bow to the demands within a 10-day deadline, and the anti-Qatar bloc has begun to shift its focus toward six principles on combating extremism and terrorism.

Qatari foreign minister said on July 31 that the crisis should be solved through diplomacy without touching Qatar's sovereignty and made it clear that Qatar will not accept any demands that are not in line with international law.