Qatar ready for US-hosted talks to solve Gulf crisis, emir Tamim says

“Nothing is going to be above our dignity, our sovereignty. But we want it to end. I always say that,” he told the “60 Minutes” programme in an interview aired on Sunday. “If they (are) going to walk one metre towards me, I‘m willing to walk 10,000 miles towards them,” he said.

The four countries have cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar, the world’s top seller of liquefied natural gas, accusing it of financing terrorism. Doha denies the charges.

The dispute has hit travel and food imports and ratcheted up tensions in a wealthy region which plays a leading role in global energy markets as well as events across the wider Middle East.

On Sunday, Bahrain’s foreign minister called for freezing Qatar’s membership out of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to preserve its unity, adding that Bahrain will not attend the upcoming GCC summit if Qatar does not change its stand.

Qatar hosts Al Udeid air base, the largest U.S. military facility in the Middle East.

Sheikh Tamim said Trump had told him “I will not accept my friends fighting amongst themselves,” and that in talks on the sidelines of a United Nations’ meeting in September he had made an offer to host talks in the United States.

“I told him straightaway, ‘Mr President, we are very ready. I’ve been asking for dialogue from day one,” Sheikh Tamim said, adding that the meeting was supposed to happen very soon and that he had not heard a response from the other countries.

(Source: Reuters)