MEED rounds up the latest developments from the GCC diplomatic crisis around Qatar
- Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on 8 June said that he wanted a diplomatic solution to resolve the escalating crisis but said that Doha will not back down from its foreign policy position. Speaking to reporters in Doha, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar had been isolated because we are successful and progressive. He said the dispute was threatening the stability of the entire region but said there would be no military solution. He said: We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy. - BBC
- Doha is reported to be holding talks with Iran and Turkey to secure food and water supplies amid concerns of possible shortages two days after its biggest suppliers, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, cut trade and diplomatic ties. Reuters reported a Qatari official as saying: We are in talks with Turkey and Iran and other countries, reportedly adding that the supplies would be brought in through Qatar Airways cargo flights. Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on 8 June said that Tehran had offered the use of three of its ports to ship food and water to Qatar as supplies ran low, but he said the offer had not yet been accepted. Doha sources say the country has enough grain supplies to last four weeks and that the government also had large strategic food reserves in Doha - Reuters
Kuwaits emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah
- Kuwaits Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah flew to Qatar on Wednesday night and was met at the airport by Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Qatari foreign ministry said they held talks on how to restore the normal relations of the Gulf - The Guardian
- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain said in a statement published by the Saudi news agency that 59 people, including the Muslim Brotherhoods spiritual leader Yousef al-Qaradawi, and 12 entities, among them Qatari-funded charities, were named - Arab News
UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (left), US President Donald Trump (centre), King Salman of Saudi Arabia (centre right) and King Abdullah II of Jordan
UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (left), US President Donald Trump (centre), King Salman of Saudi Arabia (centre right) and King Abdullah II of Jordan
- Qatar has said US president Donald Trump is crucial to resolving the crisis.Meshal bin Hamad al-Thani, Qatars ambassador to the US, told the Financial Times that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had initiated an unprecedented diplomatic and economic blockade against Qatar. He said they wanted 10 days to submit their demands. We believe in his ability to calm this crisis down, Mr al-Thani said of Mr Trump, who has spoken to Qatari, Saudi and UAE leaders in the past two days. We are courageous enough to acknowledge if things need to be amended. The US president, Donald Trump has called the Qatari emir suggesting he come to the US to discuss a resolution to the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Gulf in 30 years.- Financial Times
- Egypt urged the UN Security Council to launch an investigation into claims that Qatar paid a ransom of up to $1bn (£770m) to secure the release of royal family members kidnapped while hunting in southern Iraq -Reuters
- Saudi Arabias foreign minister flew to Oman for talks but officials did not elaborate. Oman has so far not been involved in the action against Qatar.
- The Turkish Parliament on 8 June ratified an accord to deploy additional troops to Qatar. The move came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an voiced support for Qatar and criticised other countries moves to isolate it.Turkey has also pledged food and water supplies as fears of shortages have mounted since the closing of land, sea and air access to Qatar. Turkish officials say as many as 3000 extra troops could be sent - euronews
Copy of LNG carrier
- Royal Dutch Shell sent an LNG cargo from the United States to Dubai, shipping data shows, after the UAE banned Qatari ships from entering UAE ports. A cluster of 17 LNG tankers are now moored off the coast of the Qatari LNG export facility at Ras Laffan, up from seven on Monday. Gas prices in the United Kingdom spiked on Thursday, with the UK National Balancing Point (NBP) price up over 4.5 percent after two Qatari tankers that were likely bound for the UK changed course, according to Reuters shipping data. It is unclear why those tankers shifted movements, though traders said they may be diverted around the continent of Africa rather than transit the Suez Canal, which is where they were expected to go. Traders worry that Egypt might bar tankers carrying Qatari cargoes from using the Suez Canal, though it is bound by international treaties not to block the canal.Analysts still do not see an interruption in supply in the LNG market, even with Qatars role as the worlds largest producer. Only Egypt and the UAE are boycotting Qatari cargos so they are the only countries that might see U.S. volume replace Qatari, said Theodore Michael, senior LNG analyst at energy data provider Genscape - Reuters
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