Gulf states being stubborn, UN should step in: Qatar amid diplomatic crisis

Qatar's foreign minister on Thursday accused Gulf neighbors and Egypt of "stubbornness" in their ongoing diplomatic dispute and said the United Nations should step in to help resolve the crisis.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York to discuss tensions after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5.

The four countries accuse Qatar of backing extremism and have imposed sanctions against Doha in what the foreign minister said was a "serious violation of international law."

"There is a role for the Security Council and for the General Assembly and all the United Nations mechanisms, because of course the violations have continued," the foreign minister told reporters after his meeting with Guterres.

"We are seeing from the other side of the conflict this stubbornness without even taking any forthcoming step to solve this problem," he said.

Last month Al-Thani met with several Security Council members to lobby for support, but the council and Guterres have repeatedly stressed that a solution should be found among regional partners.

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