No-one has right to 'blockade' my country, says Qatar foreign minister

Abu Dhabi is the biggest of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. Tillerson is calling on Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to immediately ease their blo.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain welcomed on Saturday U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for Qatar to stop supporting terrorism but did not respond to a U.S. Department of State call for them to ease pressure on the Gulf state.

Despite Tillerson's plea for "no further escalation", Trump's sharp comments were likely to further embolden Saudi Arabia and the others in their bid to isolate Qatar.

Saudi Arabia and its counterparts accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region because of its ties to their Shiite rival, Iran, and its support for groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. Its foreign minister has struck a defiant tone in interviews, even after anxious residents emptied grocery stores in its capital of Doha as Saudi Arabia has blocked trucks carrying food from entering the country.

Trump's Tuesday tweet - in which he said "all reference was pointing to Qatar" as a financer of extremism - was especially surprising given Qatar's role as host of the largest USA airbase in the Middle East.

"We have great confidence in the president's ability to calm this crisis and to resolve it", Al Thani said in an interview. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar.

The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats. "Our relationship with the United States speaks for itself". Davis said the diplomatic rift has not interrupted or curtailed operations at al-Udeid air base, a launching pad for USA military efforts in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

It has also become closer to Moscow, even as they support opposing sides in the Syrian war and are also competitors in the gas market. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also spoken to Qatar's emir over the crisis.

The U.A.E. -owned Etihad and Emirates airlines said expatriates residing in Qatar and in possession of Qatari residency will not be eligible for an Emirati visa on arrival.

Qatari officials have repeatedly denied the allegations.

"We will not hesitate to protect our interests and the road is open to any options to protect ourselves from Qatar", Sheikh Khalid was quoted as saying.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Qatar's debt on Wednesday as the riyal currency fell to an 11-year low amid signs that portfolio investment funds were flowing out of the country because of Doha's diplomatic rift with other Arab states.

On Thursday, Egypt urged the UN Security Council to launch an investigation into accusations that Qatar paid a ransom of up to $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) "to a terrorist group active in Iraq" to release kidnapped members of its royal family.

Kuwait is leading efforts to find a mediated solution. Davis said the Defense Logistics Agency "is looking at a number of contingencies if the thing should come about, but at this point there's no impact on our operations".