Qatar's minister of defence Khalid al-Attiyah has warned that the Arab countries who have imposed blockades on the country must first apologise before engaging in any dialogue to settle the Gulf Crisis.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism in the region and for being 'too close' to Iran. The coalition of Arab countries have imposed travel restrictions and economic sanctions on Qatar since June. Qatar, obviously, categorically denies each and every one of those allegations.
Media hacking allegations
In July, the Qatar News Agency was hacked to post false quotes. al-Attiyah says that Qatar seeks apologies for all of these issues before allowing the coalition to sit down with state leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
"The solution to the Gulf crisis is clear," he said. "The siege countries should apologise for hacking the QNA website and fabricating statements attributed to the Emir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, lifting the siege, and then going to Kuwait for the dialogue."
al-Attiyah vehemently maintains that Qatar is wholeheartedly willing to engage in peace talks to solve the Gulf crisis.
The comments were quoted in Moscow where al-Atti yah was meeting Russia's defense minister Sergey Shoigu in order to discuss potential arms deal as well as strengthening bilateral relations between the two nations.
"As far as our mutual cooperation is concerned, this is not just the purchase of air defence systems but also technologies," he added. "We would like to develop this industry and bring this technology to Qatar."
Ties with Iran renewed
Despite the Arab nations' indignation, Qatar restored full diplomatic ties with Iran earlier today and vowed to strengthen bilateral relations with the country "in all areas" the tiny emirate had recalled its ambassador from Tehran in 2016 when Saudi diplomatic missions were attacked in Iran after Saudi Arabia executed a Shiite cleric.
Although it is still unclear when Qatar's ambassador to Iran will resume office in Tehran. This announcement came after Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani held talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif via telephone.
A statement issued following the talks claims the two men "discussed bilateral relations and means of boosting and developing them as well as a number of issues of common concern."
The statement did not mention any dialogue on the Gulf crisis. Saudi Arabia and its allies are yet to release a statement on the renewed diplomatic relations between Qatar and Iran.