Qatar: 'Ready to participate' in US-Gulf summit

Qatar is ready to participate in the United States-Gulf Cooperation Council summit due in May provided the blockading countries’ have real will to solve the current crisis and “not coercion”, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani announced yesterday.

Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC, Al Thani said: “Qatar is still open for a dialogue, supports the Kuwaiti Emir’s initiative and will attend the US-brokered meeting in Camp David.”

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on all the Gulf countries “to de-escalate tensions and work to counter terrorism as well as Iran’s influence in the region.”

“Any solution to the dispute between the GCC countries must be premised on the principles of equality between the nations of the region,” Al Thani said.

“No one can be forced to start dialogue,” he stressed.

Qatar will never re-gain the same strong relations with the blockading countries… Trust between us [GCC countries] has been lost.

“Qatar hopes that the GCC can be rebuilt,” he added, noting that “some of the regional countries’ governments are based on repressing their people.”

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