Qatar's foreign minister called for "dialogue" on Wednesday (July 5th) to resolve the Gulf diplomatic crisis, accusing Arab states that have cut ties with Qatar of trying to undermine the nation's sovereignty, AFP reported.
"Qatar continues to call for dialogue," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told the Chatham House think tank in London, as the Arab states held talks in Egypt to discuss their next move.
"We welcome any serious efforts to resolve our differences with our neighbours," he said, adding: "We do not accept intervention in our own affairs."
He accused Saudi Arabia and its regional allies of "demanding that we must surrender our sovereignty as the price for ending the siege".
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Wednesday welcomed his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain for talks in Cairo.
Earlier Wednesday, the Saudi foreign ministry said it had received Qatar's response to its demands, and would respond "at the right time".
The countries issued the 13-point list of demands on June 22nd, giving Qatar 10 days to respond. The deadline was extended by 48 hours on Sunday at the request of Kuwait, which is mediating in the crisis, and Qatar handed in the response on Monday.
The contents of the response have not been disclosed, but the Qatari foreign minister said Tuesday that the list of demands "is unrealistic and is not actionable".
