Qatar LIVE: Latest news as Qatar says it will NOT be dictated to by Gulf nations

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have cut ties with Qatar accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremism.
Donald Trump has endorsed and claimed credit for the sanctions, labelling Qatar a «funder of terrorism».
Qatar says that its foreign policy will not be dictated by Gulf nations, and insists that it will not be the «only one to lose» in the dispute.
Turkey`s President Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the blockae on Qatar as a disturbance of Islamic values.

1.20pm: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is sending his top diplomat to Qatar today in a bid to broker an end the Gulf crisis.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is scheduled to meet Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and is also set to travel to Saudi Arabia.

Qatar said earlier today that it has withdrawn troops from the border inbetween the east African states of Djibouti and Eritrea where it has been acting as mediator in a border dispute.

It gave no reasons for the stir, but Djibouti had earlier downgraded its diplomatic ties with Qatar after the Gulf budge against Doha.

Erdogan, in Turkey’s strongest comments since the rift began on June Five, denounced the isolation of Qatar as a disturbance of Islamic values and akin to a “death penalty”.

11.47am: The dispute inbetween Qatar and Saudi Arabia could spark heightened pressure among Syrian rebels, it has been warned.

Confrontation inbetween the Gulf states is creating unease among rebels who expect the crisis inbetween two of their largest state backers to deepen divisions in the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.

Together with Turkey and the United States, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been major sponsors of the insurgency, arming an array of groups that have been fighting to topple the Iran-backed president. The Gulf support has however been far from harmonious, fuelling splits that have set back the revolt.

Rebel fighter Mustafa Sejari of the Liwa al Mutasem group in northern Syria said: “God forbid if this crisis is not contained I predict that the situation in Syria will become tragic, because the factions that are supported by different countries will be coerced to take hostile positions towards each other.

“We urge our brothers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar not to cargo the Syrian people more than they can bear.”

Ten.36am: The Gulf crisis is causing «logistical headaches» for the oil industry, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.

In its latest oil market report, the IEA said that while the dispute has not yet affected supplies, it has become an operation problem for lifters of Qatari crude, condensate and LNG (liquefied natural gas).

“Abu Dhabi swiftly enforced a ban on oil tankers linked to Qatar calling at ports in the UAE, which could lead to a backlog of cargoes and enhanced shipping costs,” the IEA said in the report.

“Qatar pumps just over six hundred thousand barrels a day of crude and exports some five hundred thousand barrels a day, almost exclusively to Asia.

«Buyers often co-load cargoes from elsewhere in the Gulf, typically sold as 500,000 barrel lots, onto larger tankers to reduce shipping costs.

«Due to the political row, crude from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain cannot be co-loaded with Qatari crude, limiting co-loading of Qatari grades to crude from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Oman, which are not part of the dispute.»

9.55am: Qatar has withdrawn its troops from the border inbetween Djibouti and Eritrea, where the Gulf state has been acting as mediator in a border dispute, the Qatari Foreign Ministry has exposed.

It did not give reason for the withdrawal but the budge comes as Qatar faces a major diplomatic crisis with some of its Gulf Arab neighbours.

They cut ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing Islamist militancy and Iran. Qatar strongly denies this.

“Qatar has been an impartial diplomatic mediator in resolving crises and disputes inbetween brotherly and friendly countries and will proceed to be a major player in the international community,” the ministry said in a statement.

It did not specify the number of troops affected.

Qatar’s Ambassador to Britain, Yousuf bin Ali Al-Khater

Ten.41pm: The United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the US said the Gulf countries that cut ties with Qatar will arm over the list of requests to Washington “fairly soon”.

Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba also said there was “absolutely no military component to anything that we are doing”.

9.51pm: Moroccan King Mohammed VI has voiced his “utter support” for ongoing efforts by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al Ahmad al Jaber al Sabah to resolve the Gulf crisis.

8.57pm: Saudi Arabi’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir says Qatar’s airports and ports are open and the budge against Doha is a boycott not a blockade.

He also said that his government was exercising its “sovereign right”.

7.50pm: The Qatari envoy to Russia blasted the «illegal» blockade of Qatar by its Arab Gulf neighbours.

Ambassador Fahad bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, told Al Jazeera from Moscow: “It is not a diplomatic rift as most people want to present, this is indeed an illegal blockade. “

He added: “If [the crisis] is not resolved through mediation I think it should go to the [UN] Security Council and in that example I think the members of the Security Council such as the US, Russia and other players will very likely have to intervene to undo the violations to begin with.

«Very first of all condemn it and then undo it and then call the parties to come around the table of dialogue.»

6.35pm: Qatar has shut down two of its helium production plants over the economic boycott in the Middle East, industry insiders told Reuters.

The Arab Gulf nation is the world`s 2nd largest helium producer in the world, and the two RasGas plants that were shut down were subsidiaries of state-owned Qatar Petroleum

A Qatar Petroleum official confirmed that the plants were closed after Saudi Arabia shutdown its border with Qatar, blocking land exports of the resource.

Analysts believe the rift in Arab diplomacy will send oil prices soaring

Five.20pm: The US ambassador to Qatar is stepping down from her post while the Middle Eastern country goes through a diplomatic crisis.

“This month, I end my three years as US Ambassador to #Qatar. It has been the greatest honor of my life and I’ll miss this excellent country,” Dana Shell Smith said on Twitter.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi meantime is opposed to the isolation of Qatar by its Arab Gulf neighbours.

“Regimes are not affected by the blockade; the blockade hurts people,” Mr Abadi told reporters in Baghdad.

Two.55pm: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said his country was ready to provide food and medical aid to Qatar if needed, Sky News Arabia reported, a week after Riyadh and other Arab capitals cut ties with their Gulf neighbour.

Jubeir defended the Arab powers’ stir against the gas-rich emirate as a boycott not a blockade, telling his government was exercising its “sovereign right”, the channel reported in a series of newsflashes.

Elsewhere, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan denounced the isolation of Qatar by neighbouring states as a disturbance of Islamic values and tantamount to a “death penalty” against Doha in a crisis reverberating through the Middle East and beyond.

Erdogan’s comments marked the strongest intervention yet by a powerful regional ally of Doha eight days after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar and imposed stringent economic sanctions on it.

11.45am: Russia has said that the Gulf conflict is counterproductive to fighting terrorism and finding a Syrian settlement.

Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman discussed the Qatar crisis in a phone call on Tuesday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

DANA SHELL SMITH TWITTER

US Envoy to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, is stepping down from her role

11.00am: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday denounced the isolation of Qatar as “inhumane and against Islamic values”, and said the methods used against the Gulf state were unacceptable.

Erdogan’s defence of Qatar, in a parliamentary speech to members of his ruling AK Party, comes after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed relations with Qatar last week, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran – allegations Qatar says are baseless.

Erdogan also said that Saudi Arabia should solve the crisis.

Ten.00am: Saudi Arabia’s aviation figure said today that closing its air space to flights from Qatar was within its sovereign rights to protect its citizens from any threat.

The Saudi comments were in reaction to remarks by Qatar Airway’s chief executive that the kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were violating international law by shutting out Qatari flights.

The airspace closure was within its sovereign right to protect the country and its citizens from anything it sees as a threat and as a precautionary measure, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency.

Similar statements were also issued by the UAE and Bahraini aviation authorities after a CNN interview of Chief Executive of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, who criticised the three Arab countries for the airspace closure.

7.45am: Pakistan`s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has «reaffirmed» his country`s comittment to Saudi Arabia.

Speaking after a meeting with Saudi Arabia`s King Salman, Mr Sharif “reaffirmed the strong commitment of the people and the government of Pakistan for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Kingdom”.

A press release added that “the Kingdom had a very special place in the hearts of Pakistanis and that the Muslim world looked up to the King as the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques”.

Five.45am: Amnesty International has criticised the measures taken by Saudi Arabia and its allies, calling the blockade a disturbance of human rights.

Amnesty`s Secretary General Salil Shetty dismissed the Gulf nations` efforts to help families impacted by the embargo as «vague and insufficient», and called on international figures to intervene.

Two of Qatar’s helium plants were shutdown over the diplomatic crisis in the Middle East

Ten:30pm Turkish foreign minister meets Gulf envoys in Ankara amid the escalating Gulf crisis.

Mevlut Cavusoglu raised concerns of Turkey and expectations from the international community over the crisis at the meeting.

9:45pm: Albeit Eritrea has close ties with Qatar, it has voiced support for these anti-Qatar measures.

The Eritrean information ministry said the measures taken against Qatar are «one initiative among many in the right direction that envisages utter realisation of regional security and stability.»

9pm: Morocco has said that it will send aeroplanes with food to Qatar, not connected to the Gulf crisis.

King Mohammen VI has asked the government to send the food because of Islamic teachings, particularly during Ramadan.

Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the UAE, has said on Twitter: “After much effort to internationalise the crisis with its brothers, after Qatar kept drumming up its media and screaming it is oppressed, our brother Qatar will soon realise the solution is in Riyadh and at the palms of King Salman.”

7:55pm: The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has warned that the strain in the Gulf «may not end well».

“It is fairly difficult for us, the generation that built the GCC thirty seven years ago, to see the divisions among its members that may not end well,” he said according to state news agency Kuna.

He added: “Almost four decades ago, I lived the very first moments of building the GCC and this is why I cannot stand silent without attempting to mediate for the rapprochement among the brothers. It is a duty that I cannot walk away from.”

“No matter how difficult the efforts, I will do my best to mediate among the brothers.»

Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the UAE, also said on Twitter: “After much effort to internationalise the crisis with its brothers, after [Qatar kept] drumming up its media and screaming it is oppressed, our brother [Qatar] will soon realize the solution is in Riyadh and at Salman.”

6.10pm: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has arrived in Saudi Arabia`s Jeddah, to consult the Saudi leadership over the situation with Qatar, according to local media.

Mr Sharif will address the “emergent situation among the [Gulf Cooperation Council] GCC countries», Radio Pakistan reported.

The Prime Minister is being accompanied by Pakistan`s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Sartaj Aziz, his foreign affairs adviser.

Five.35pm: French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to the Emir of Kuwait in a bid to restore relations inbetween Qatar and the Arab states.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, is presently at the forefront of mediation efforts.

Mr Macron himself has had a series of phone calls with the Emir of Qatar, the king of Saudi Arabia, as well as the Turkish President and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi in order to solve the situation.

Four.45pm: Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani denounced the sanctions placed on Doha by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

“Whatever relates to our foreign affairs. no one has the right to discuss,” Sheikh Mohammed said on Monday.

He added: “Qatar is willing to sit and negotiate about whatever is related to Gulf security.»

Qatar LIVE: Latest news as Qatar says it will NOT be dictated to by Gulf nations, World, News

Qatar LIVE: Latest news as Qatar says it will NOT be dictated to by Gulf nations

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have cut ties with Qatar accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremism.
Donald Trump has endorsed and claimed credit for the sanctions, labelling Qatar a «funder of terrorism».
Qatar says that its foreign policy will not be dictated by Gulf nations, and insists that it will not be the «only one to lose» in the dispute.
Turkey`s President Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the blockae on Qatar as a disturbance of Islamic values.

1.20pm: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is sending his top diplomat to Qatar today in a bid to broker an end the Gulf crisis.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is scheduled to meet Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and is also set to travel to Saudi Arabia.

Qatar said earlier today that it has withdrawn troops from the border inbetween the east African states of Djibouti and Eritrea where it has been acting as mediator in a border dispute.

It gave no reasons for the budge, but Djibouti had earlier downgraded its diplomatic ties with Qatar after the Gulf stir against Doha.

Erdogan, in Turkey’s strongest comments since the rift began on June Five, denounced the isolation of Qatar as a disturbance of Islamic values and akin to a “death penalty”.

11.47am: The dispute inbetween Qatar and Saudi Arabia could spark heightened stress among Syrian rebels, it has been warned.

Confrontation inbetween the Gulf states is creating unease among rebels who expect the crisis inbetween two of their fattest state backers to deepen divisions in the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.

Rebel fighter Mustafa Sejari of the Liwa al Mutasem group in northern Syria said: “God forbid if this crisis is not contained I predict that the situation in Syria will become tragic, because the factions that are supported by different countries will be compelled to take hostile positions towards each other.

“We urge our brothers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar not to cargo the Syrian people more than they can bear.”

Ten.36am: The Gulf crisis is causing «logistical headaches» for the oil industry, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned.

“Abu Dhabi swiftly enforced a ban on oil tankers linked to Qatar calling at ports in the UAE, which could lead to a backlog of cargoes and enhanced shipping costs,” the IEA said in the report.

“Qatar pumps just over six hundred thousand barrels a day of crude and exports some five hundred thousand barrels a day, almost exclusively to Asia.

«Buyers often co-load cargoes from elsewhere in the Gulf, typically sold as 500,000 barrel lots, onto larger tankers to reduce shipping costs.

It did not give reason for the withdrawal but the budge comes as Qatar faces a major diplomatic crisis with some of its Gulf Arab neighbours.

They cut ties a week ago, accusing Doha of backing Islamist militancy and Iran. Qatar strongly denies this.

It did not specify the number of troops affected.

Qatar’s Ambassador to Britain, Yousuf bin Ali Al-Khater

Ten.41pm: The United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the US said the Gulf countries that cut ties with Qatar will palm over the list of requests to Washington “fairly soon”.