Qatar ‘not prepared to change its foreign policy

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani says Qatar has never experienced such hostility, even from an enemy country.

Qatar is not prepared to change its foreign policy to resolve a dispute with fellow Arab Gulf states and will never compromise, Qatar’s foreign minister has told Al Jazeera.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani made the remarks in Doha on Thursday, just days after Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and several other countries cut relations with Qatar.

They accuse Qatar of supporting armed groups and their regional rival, Iran. Qatar says the charges are baseless.

“We are not ready to surrender, and will never be ready to surrender, the independence of our foreign policy,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra, reporting from Doha, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman was defiant and stressed that Qatar could live under embargo for ever.

“He said Qatar has the backing of the international community and that they will manage to mitigate the consequences of this crisis,” our correspondent said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said that “measures had been taken by the Qatari government to ensure that the standards provided to the people will be maintained”.

He said Qatar had not yet been presented with a list of demands by the countries that cut off ties with the country on Monday, but he insisted it be solved by peaceful means.

“There cannot ever be a military solution to this problem,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman further said that the contingent of Turkish troops set to deploy to Qatar was for the sake of the entire region’s security.

LNG gas agreements

Meanwhile, Qatar will respect the LNG gas agreements it has made with the UAE despite its cutting off relations with Doha, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman said.

He said Iran has told Qatar it is ready to help with securing food supplies and will designate three of its ports to Qatar, but the offer has not yet been accepted.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman’s comments came a day after a high-level UAE government official told AFP news agency that the unprecedented measures against Qatar aim to pressure the country into making drastic policy changes.

Accusing the Qatari government of being in “denial”, Anwar Gargash, UAE state minister for foreign affairs, said: “This is not about regime change – this is about change of policy, change of approach.”

The four Arab countries have suspended all flights to and from Doha and closed off sea and air links to Qatar.

Saudi Arabia has also closed off Qatar’s only land border.

Analysts say the crisis is in part an extension of a pre-existing dispute which saw Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain temporarily recall their ambassadors from Doha in 2014 over Qatari support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies