Flag of Qatar
Flag of QatariStock

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Monday that he plans to travel to the United States next week to discuss the impact of a rift with Gulf Arab states on its economy and on the fight against terrorism, Reuters reported.

According to the report, Sheikh Mohammed told journalists in Doha that Qatar was ready to engage in a dialogue with other Gulf parties to resolve the crisis based on clear principles.

At the same time, he also stressed that Qatar will not negotiate with states that have cut economic and travel ties with it unless they reverse their sanctions.

According to The Guardian, Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar had still not received any demands from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which severed relations two weeks ago.

“Qatar is under blockade, there is no negotiation. They have to lift the blockade to start negotiations,” he added. “Until now we didn’t see any progress about lifting the blockade, which is the precondition for anything to move forward.”

The countries that severed ties with Qatar say that it is financing terrorist groups, such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar denies the allegations.

In addition to cutting ties, those countries placed dozens of figures linked to Qatar on blacklists, including members of the country’s royal family and one of the spiritual leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood, Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

Last week, Bahrain's central bank ordered banks operating in the kingdom to freeze assets and bank accounts of the individuals who were blacklisted.