<p>Qatar's foreign minister today called on neighbouring states to lift their "blockade" of his country before Doha takes part in any negotiations on ending the Gulf diplomatic crisis.<br />Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called measures to isolate Qatar imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others "an act of aggression", adding that lifting them was a "pre-condition" for talks.<br />"We have to make it very clear for everyone, negotiations must be done in a civilised way and should have a solid basis and not under pressure or under blockade," the foreign minister told reporters in Doha.<br />"Qatar under blockade -- there is no negotiation. They have to lift the blockade."<br />On June 5, Saudi Arabia and allied states cut all ties with Qatar, pulling their ambassadors from the emirate and ordering its citizens to repatriate by June 19.<br />The measures also included closing Qatar's only land border, banning its planes from using their airspace and barring Qatari nationals from transiting through their airports.<br />Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and other states accuse Qatar of supporting and funding "terrorism" and of working with regional rival Iran, charges Doha firmly denies.<br />Sheikh Mohammed's demand came as a UAE minister warned that Qatar's diplomatic isolation could "last years".<br />"We do not want to escalate, we want to isolate," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told journalists during a visit to Paris. "This isolation can take years."<br />The minister said that while Qatar's rivals were "betting on time", a solution could not be brokered until it abandoned its support for "extremist Islamists".<br />Sheikh Mohammed said that Qatar had not received any demands from the Gulf states or from countries seeking a diplomatic solution, including Kuwait, the United States, France and Britain.<br />"Why they didn't submit their demands yet? For us, there is no clear answer for this," he said.<br />"But what we have seen until now, there is no solid ground for these demands, that's why they didn't submit their demands yet."<br />The foreign minister added that the economic impact on Qatar had so far proved minimal but added: "We are not claiming we are living in a perfect condition."<br />The Gulf political crisis has also affected countries outside the region.<br />"France, UK or the United States -- they are strong allies of Qatar and we have a great deal of cooperation together in terms of military, defence, security, economically," said Sheikh Mohammed.<br />"So a blockade on Qatar and measures being taken against Qatar in this way is affecting the interests of those countries as well, directly."</p>
<p>Qatar's foreign minister today called on neighbouring states to lift their "blockade" of his country before Doha takes part in any negotiations on ending the Gulf diplomatic crisis.<br />Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called measures to isolate Qatar imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and others "an act of aggression", adding that lifting them was a "pre-condition" for talks.<br />"We have to make it very clear for everyone, negotiations must be done in a civilised way and should have a solid basis and not under pressure or under blockade," the foreign minister told reporters in Doha.<br />"Qatar under blockade -- there is no negotiation. They have to lift the blockade."<br />On June 5, Saudi Arabia and allied states cut all ties with Qatar, pulling their ambassadors from the emirate and ordering its citizens to repatriate by June 19.<br />The measures also included closing Qatar's only land border, banning its planes from using their airspace and barring Qatari nationals from transiting through their airports.<br />Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and other states accuse Qatar of supporting and funding "terrorism" and of working with regional rival Iran, charges Doha firmly denies.<br />Sheikh Mohammed's demand came as a UAE minister warned that Qatar's diplomatic isolation could "last years".<br />"We do not want to escalate, we want to isolate," state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash told journalists during a visit to Paris. "This isolation can take years."<br />The minister said that while Qatar's rivals were "betting on time", a solution could not be brokered until it abandoned its support for "extremist Islamists".<br />Sheikh Mohammed said that Qatar had not received any demands from the Gulf states or from countries seeking a diplomatic solution, including Kuwait, the United States, France and Britain.<br />"Why they didn't submit their demands yet? For us, there is no clear answer for this," he said.<br />"But what we have seen until now, there is no solid ground for these demands, that's why they didn't submit their demands yet."<br />The foreign minister added that the economic impact on Qatar had so far proved minimal but added: "We are not claiming we are living in a perfect condition."<br />The Gulf political crisis has also affected countries outside the region.<br />"France, UK or the United States -- they are strong allies of Qatar and we have a great deal of cooperation together in terms of military, defence, security, economically," said Sheikh Mohammed.<br />"So a blockade on Qatar and measures being taken against Qatar in this way is affecting the interests of those countries as well, directly."</p>