Qatar's Readiness to Negotiate with Arab Countries on 'Legitimate Issues'

Qatar's Foreign Minister stated that the country is ready to negotiate on 'legitimate issues' with Arab countries to end the regional crisis. Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani said on Thursday, July 8, that accepting some of the items presented in the list from these countries is impossible as they are not based on reality. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and siding with their enemy Iran in the Middle East, severing their relations with Doha. The diplomatic and travel relations cut has created one of the worst tensions among these U.S. allies in recent years. These countries have also closed their maritime, air, and land borders to Qatar, leading to a food crisis in the country. Currently, Iran and Turkey are sending food supplies to Qatar through special maritime and air routes. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt have also put forward 13 conditions for resuming relations and lifting sanctions against Qatar; proposals that Doha has requested to negotiate, but Saudi Arabia has rejected this request. Among these proposals are shutting down the state television network 'Al Jazeera', reducing relations with Iran, and dismantling the Turkish military base in Qatar. These countries have given Doha a 10-day deadline to comply with these requests, which ends on Sunday. The Qatari Foreign Minister stated on Thursday that Doha is interested in negotiating 'legitimate issues', but emphasized that 'some of their demands are unreasonable.' He said, 'We cannot cut ties with ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Hezbollah because such connections do not exist. We also cannot expel any members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from Qatar because there are no members of the Guard in Qatar.' Nevertheless, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, stated on July 6 that there would be no negotiations with Qatar regarding the 13 conditions set by the four Arab countries for resuming relations and lifting sanctions against the country. Adel al-Jubeir said, 'We have stated our position and taken our steps; now it is the Qataris' turn to correct their behavior. Whenever they implement these conditions, actions can be taken, but if they do not comply, they will remain isolated.' The Saudi Foreign Minister added that if Qatar wants to return to the Gulf Cooperation Council, it knows what it needs to do.