Lift siege before dialogue, Qatar tells Gulf countries

Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah has conditioned the lifting of a blockage imposed on his country by four Arab states before engaging in any dialogue with its neighbors.

"Lifting the siege should precede any dialogue," al-Attiyah said in an interview with Russia Today, excerpts of which was published by Qatar's official news agency on July 25.

Qatar has been reeling under a blockage imposed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain since last month.

The four states accuse Doha of interfering in their affairs and supporting terrorism, a claim dismissed by Qatar, which contends that the blockade was in violation of international law.

"If the blockade countries remain reluctant to lift the siege, Qatar will be compelled to resort to the available international legal procedures to lift it," al-Attiyah said. 

Saudi Arabia and its allies unveiled a "terrorist" blacklist on July 25 of 18 organizations and individuals suspected of links with Islamist extremism that they said had ties with regional rival Qatar.

New blacklist

The group blacklisted nine charity and media organizations and nine individuals "directly or indirectly linked to Qatari authorities" as "terrorist," a joint statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency said.

"We expect Qatari authorities to take the next step and prosecute the terrorist groups and people," the statement added.

"The four countries and their international partners will ensure that Qatar has ceased its support and funding of terrorism, has stopped welcoming terrorists and has stopped spreading extremist and hate speech," it added.

The Saudi-led bloc, which now blacklists 89 persons and...

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