Qatar's foreign minister said on Tuesday Doha was ready for mediation efforts after the Arab world's biggest powers severed ties with it, adding that Qatar's ruler had delayed a speech in order to give Kuwait a chance to ease regional tensions.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in a coordinated move on Monday. Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives joined later and transport links were shut down.
Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait, which has maintained diplomatic ties with Qatar, and decided to postpone a speech to the Qatari people as requested.
Doha also decided not to retaliate against the measures.
Qatar wants to give Kuwait's Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah the ability to "proceed and communicate with the parties to the crisis and to try to contain the issue," Shaikh Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani .
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He added that the measures taken against Qatar had an "unprecedented impact" on its citizens and on family relations in the Gulf Arab region, but said Doha will not take counter measures.
Qatar "believes such differences between sister countries must be resolved through dialogue."
Qatar’s planes have lost the privilege of using the airspace of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the three countries will not fly their planes into Qatar.
The situation, occurring days before Eid, the occasion for hundreds of thousands of people to travel and meet up with their families, could deliver complete chaos, deep frustration and a serious blow to Qatar’s status and prestige ahead of the eye-riveting 2022 World Cup.
Several Qatar Airways flights have been either delayed or cancelled.
Today Qatar Airways ended its silence, amid a barrage of frantic customer calls, confirming that it would refund tickets.
Qatar, which has been marketing itself as a tourism hub, will naturally be affected by the closure of the Salwa/Abu Samra crossing border with Saudi Arabia.
Residents in Doha rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food items.
Photographs of empty chiller shelves have already been circulating on social media sites, as residents reportedly cleared out stores of chicken and other fresh and frozen meat in some shops.
Up to 800 lorries use the border crossing every day and figures show that 326,000 visitors used it from January 10 to February 5.
Qatar’s main trade partners are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have decided to limit their transactions with Doha.
The fallout will also likely impact maritime links, a vital way to transport goods into Qatar, which sounds the alarm for more commercial and economic woes for Doha.
