Qatar is facing a severe economic and diplomatic boycott by Saudi Arabia and its regional allies, which accuse Doha of funding terrorism, fomenting regional unrest and cosying up to their enemy Iran.
Qatar announced its plan to buy 36 F-15 jets from the US.
Qatar held war games with Turkish troops on Monday, showing off one of its strong alliances after two weeks of unprecedented isolation.
Sheikh Saif bin Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatar's Government Communications Office, said in a statement that the blockade, now entering its third week, is tearing at the social fabric of the Gulf. Some banks in these countries are cutting their exposure to Qatar amid concerns of a widening of the blockade, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
"For Qatar, this is beyond the scope of the contract, and we decided that the gas will not overlap now", he said.
Qatar on Monday demanded neighbouring states lift their "blockade" of the emirate as a pre-condition for crisis talks, even as the United Arab Emirates warned its isolation could last years.
"We do not want to escalate, we want to isolate", UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Anwar Gargash told journalists during a visit to Paris.
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And even if they pass a bill , it still has to be reconciled with the House version and the whole process will begin again. That would focus the aid more on people with lower incomes than the House legislation, which bases its subsidies on age.
"If they want to be isolated because of their perverted view of what their political role is, then let them be isolated", he said, according to Reuters.
On Wednesday, the United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said he was "alarmed" by the possible impact of the diplomatic isolation of Qatar, warning it could lead to widespread suffering among ordinary people.
They also urged their own citizens in Qatar to leave and threatened imprisonment and fines for anyone who criticises the measures.
Turkish troops have arrived in Doha to take part in joint training exercises, Qatar's defence ministry said on Monday, at a time of high tension in the Gulf.
The dispute is a major test for the United States, which is close allies with the countries on both sides.
Washington has sent mixed signals despite Trump's firm personal backing for the sanctions. "In the last four or five days, the numbers have risen significantly". One one hand, Qatar, Turkey's 7th biggest investor a year ago, has direct investments in Turkey as high as 18 billion USA dollars, while the value of the projects undertaken by Turkish construction companies in Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup, has reached about 8.5 billion US dollars. Kuwait and Oman presently remain the only countries of the GCC retaining diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar.
Gas-rich Qatar is now in the middle of a massive $200-plus billion infrastructure programme to help the country to prepare for the 2022 soccer World Cup.





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