Jean-Yves Le Drian to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE on July 15-16
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on July 15-16 in a bid to find a solution to the ongoing Gulf crisis.
"Concerned by current tensions that are affecting these countries with which we have close and friendly ties, we call for a rapid de-escalation that would be in everyone's interest," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
The Gulf crisis was triggered by the cutting off of trade and diplomatic relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which accuse Doha of supporting terrorism.
Le Drian "will remind his interlocutors of the negative consequences of this crisis on the diplomatic, political, economic and security levels" and "reaffirm the priority that France has for strengthening the fight against terrorism," read the statement.
Alexandre Giorgini, a deputy spokesman at the French Foreign Ministry told Le Figaro newspaper Le Drian was seeking to listen to "the views of those countries and provide the contribution of France to the mediation undertaken by Kuwait, which receives our full support."
"This approach is in the same spirit as the efforts of our American, British and German partners," he added.
The four Gulf states have presented a list of demands to Qatar, including the closure of the pan-Arab Al Jazeera television.
Qatar denies the accusations of supporting terrorism, saying the blockade is in violation of international law.
