Qatar's foreign minister said Friday that his energy-rich nation has seen “some movements” toward resolving the boycott of Doha by four Arab nations.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani cautioned that the crisis wouldn't be immediately resolved in comments to Italy's annual Mediterranean Dialogue.
He declined to offer any timetable nor any details of the negotiations. Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, recently visited Doha along with other American officials in an effort to help resolve the crisis.
Sheikh Mohammed said “this needless crisis needs to come to an end.”
“There are some movements that we hope that this will put an end to this crisis,” he said. “We believe actually that Gulf unity is very important for the security of the region.”
However, even he acknowledged a promised breakthrough over a year ago also fell apart. The four boycotting nations have not publicly acknowledged any coming breakthrough.
Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates cut ties to Qatar on June 5, 2017, just after a summit in Saudi Arabia in which Gulf leaders met with Trump. They say the crisis stems from Qatar’s support for extremist groups in the region, charges denied by Doha. Qatar has backed Islamists in the region, something strongly opposed by the UAE.
The crisis saw Qatar's land border to Saudi Arabia closed and its state-owned Qatar Airways blocked from access the airspace of the four countries.
The four nations also have pointed to Qatar’s close relationship with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore gas field that provides the peninsular nation its wealth. Qatar restored full diplomatic ties to Iran amid the dispute. Sheikh Mohammed defended Qatar's ties to both Iran and Turkey, which has a small military base in Doha, during his remarks.
Qatar is a valued partner of the U.S. Some 10,000 American troops are hosted at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base, which also serves as the forward headquarters of the U.S. military's Central Command.
Qatar also will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian court has rejected a case brought by five women seeking compensation from Qatar Airways over invasive gynecological examinations conducted on passengers at Doha’s airport in 2020, but their case against the airport's operator is going ahead.
The five, whose identities have been concealed by the courts, were among hundreds of women forcibly removed from airliners in Doha on Oct. 2, 2020, as officials searched for the mother of a newborn baby found dumped in a terminal trash can.
Thirteen women were removed from a flight to Sydney. Many said they were forced to undergo non-consensual gynecological or intimate physical examinations.
Federal Court Justice John Halley on Wednesday ruled the women’s argument against state-owned Qatar Airways did not meet international airline liability protocols.
“My conclusion that the exclusivity principle precludes the applicants from pursuing any claim for damages against Qatar Airways is a complete answer to the claims that the applicants seek to bring against Qatar Airways,” Halley said.
The judge also said the women’s case against the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority could not go ahead. However, the case against the Qatar Company for Airports Operation and Management (MATAR), the airport's operator, could continue. MATAR is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qatar Airways.
The women’s lawyer, Damian Sturzaker, said in a statement his clients were considering an appeal.
“We note however that the claims against the airport operator, MATAR remain on foot. Our clients’ resolve to continue to agitate their claims remains undiminished,” Sturzaker said. The case returns to court on May 10.
Australian Transport Minister Catherine King did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday on the court ruling.
She revealed last year that the examinations of passengers were part of the reason she decided in June to refuse to allow Qatar Airways to increase its services to Australia.
Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Matt Raos told an Australian Senate inquiry in September that such examinations of passengers would never be repeated.
“We’ve had nothing like it previously in our history and we’re completely committed to ensuring nothing like this ever happens again,” Raos told the committee.
FILE - A Qatar Airways jet approaches Philadelphia International Airport in Philadelphia, Nov. 7, 2019. An Australian court on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, has rejected a case brought by five women seeking compensation from Qatar Airways over invasive gynecological examinations conducted on passengers at Doha’s airport in 2020. The women's case against the airport's operator is still going ahead, however. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
