Qatar's Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani has called for "dialogue" to resolve the Gulf diplomatic crisis, while reaffirming that Arab states that have cut ties with Qatar were trying to undermine the nation's sovereignty.

Speaking at the Chatham House think tank in London yesterday, Sheikh Mohamed said Qatar welcomes any serious efforts to resolve the differences with its neighbours. "However countries imposing a blockade on Qatar should make the first move towards dialogue," he said adding "they should not expect from me a first step, I should expect from them a first step for engagement".



A view of the audience. Credit: Chatham House

He accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of leading the campaign against Qatar and said they were "demanding that we must surrender our sovereignty as the price for ending the siege". He called them "aggressors".
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have severed air, sea and ground links with Qatar.
"We sensed an understanding in European capitals that the blockade was illegal," he said.
Addressing a packed audience of Chatham House members and international press, he said: “Dialogue and reason will resolve problems – not shutting down free discussion." He dubbed the crackdown on free expression as "intellectual terrorism".
High-profile Qataris were in the audience including Qatar’s ambassador to the UK Yousef al-Khater and leading officials.
The silencing of any voices of support for Qatar's stand within the blockading countries was characterised by Sheikh Mohamed as a sign of weakness.
He said that Al Jazeera represented “a free, non-partisan media which had created resentment among those who had previously controlled the flow of information.” He added that the tension around this free form of media had grown after the Arab Spring.
He posed the question: "Why is Qatar’s independence such a threat to them (the siege countries)?"
He said that while Qatar is not a democracy but rather a consultative monarchy, there was a willingness to consider the introduction of parliamentary elections. “The desire and political willpower is there,” he said.
He stressed that Qatar had never undermined the collective security of the region.
Speaking of Iran, he said: “Iran is a neighbouring country – we live next door to each other – we share a gas field." Qatar wanted a positive and constructive relationship with Iran.
Regarding relations with Turkey, he posed the question: “Why is it harmful to have military co-operation with Turkey? Turkey is a Nato member – so what is the harm of having a Turkish presence in the Gulf?”
Asked if Qatar would consider cutting off gas supplies to the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed said: “The people of the UAE do not deserve to be affected – and they would be affected if we cut off the gas supply.”
He added that Qatar would not take such a step because it is taking a long term view and values its reputation as being trustworthy in its dealings.
He said the blockade was, of course, adding a financial burden with a many-fold increase in shipping costs but emphasised: “As a country we must be self-reliant.”
He said it was clear from the meetings he had held in the last weeks that ‘most countries do not want an escalation’.
He regretted the impact of the blockade on Qatari citizens, noting that 12,000 families had been affected with wives separated from husbands and children from mothers.
Asked about relations with the UK, the foreign minister said that the countries had a 100-year-old relationship. Moreover, Qatar had invested £40bn in the UK which ‘showed its confidence in the UK’.
Regarding the US, he said: “Qatar and the US have a very strong and strategic relationship.”