Kuwait emir warns against 'undesirable consequences' in Gulf dispute

KUWAIT CITY - 12 June 2017: Kuwait's emir, who has led mediation efforts this week to resolve the Gulf's worst diplomatic row in years, cautioned on Monday that the dispute could lead to "undesirable consequences", in comments carried by state news agency KUNA.

"It is difficult for us, the generation that built the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) 37 years ago, to see these disagreements between its members which may lead to undesirable consequences," said Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

"I personally lived through the first building blocks of this council nearly four decades ago, so it is not easy for someone like me as a leader to stand silent without doing everything I can to bring brothers back together."

Sheikh Sabah has visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in the last week in an effort to find a diplomatic solution to the crisis.

Qatar's foreign minister said earlier on Monday that he remained committed to the Kuwaiti process, but that he was puzzled by the accusations made by the other parties .

The emir's full remarks are to be published in al-Jarida newspaper on Tuesday, according to the KUNA statement.