Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks during a joint news conference with Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah at the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya, Malaysia December 6, 2018. REUTERS/Lai Seng Sin
December 15, 2018
DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar is still counting on Kuwait and other regional powers to help solve the Gulf crisis and revive the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Saturday.
“The (Kuwait) Emir has had a big leadership role in calming the situation which is highly appreciated by Qatar. We continue to count on the role of Kuwait and on the countries in the region to bring it (the GCC) back together,” Sheikh Mohammed told the annual Doha Forum.
“…We believe that we are more relevant as a bloc for those countries than we are separate and fragmented,” he added.
Saudi Arabia and its allies have imposed a diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar since June 2017, accusing it of cozying up to their regional rival Iran and supporting terrorism. Doha has denied these allegations.
(Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Eric Knecht; editing by Louise Heavens)
