HE the Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani chaired the cabinet's extraordinary meeting which was held in its headquarters at the Emiri Diwan Monday morning.

After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud said that the cabinet released the following statement:

The cabinet has viewed statements issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Bahrain on severing diplomatic and consular ties, as well as closing their borders and shutting airspace access.

While the cabinet expresses its surprise at the unwarranted decision that is only based on false allegations and lies, it notes that the three countries paved the way for their decision through a wide-ranging and unfair media campaign where it used all its media outlets in a GCC precedent. The unfair campaign did not even exclude the country's symbols from insults.

It was clear from the outset that the goal behind the media campaign, the decision to sever diplomatic and consular ties, and the border closures is to pressure the State of Qatar into ceding its national decision, sovereignty and policies that are based on protecting the interests of its people.

The State of Qatar has remained committed to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf and enhancing the strength of brotherly ties between the peoples of its member states. Qatar will remain loyal to those principles and to all that serves the interests of the GCC peoples.

The State of Qatar reiterates its commitment to working with the international community to combat terrorism in all its forms regardless of its source.

The cabinet reassured the citizens and residents of the State of Qatar that the government has taken long ago all the necessary measures to guarantee the normal course of life and to prevent any impact from the consequences of the decisions made by the three countries. The maritime ports and the airfield will remain open for imports, transit, and flights to all countries except the ones that closed their borders and airspace access.

The cabinet calls on the citizens not to pay attention to the tendentious media campaigns. The cabinet will provide the citizens with any updates as they happen.

The cabinet also calls on the Qatari citizens in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Kingdom of Bahrain who were asked to leave to call the embassies and consulates in those countries in order to secure their return home.