Kazakh President comments on conflict between Arab countries and Qatar

"The recent political tensions around Qatar are of concern. And in this regard, we advocate the de-escalation and normalization of the situation in the Persian Gulf region. Given the circumstances, the urgency of the initiative on Islamic reconciliation put forward by me jointly with the President of Turkey Erdogan is growing. This is important not only for Arab, Islamic states but for the whole world. This is our common subregion," Nursultan Nazarbayev said at a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Kazakhstan.

According to him, the first summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Science and Technologies to be held in Astana on September 10-11 will be an important link in establishing a dialogue between Islamic countries. "I invited all heads of state of Islamic countries to participate. And once again I ask the ambassadors of these states to convey my request to the leaders of these countries," the President said.

Earlier, Qatar stated that it would reject all 13 demands made by the Arab States to stop its isolation.

In early June, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions against Qatar and then presented a list of requirements for resolving the crisis. However, Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stressed that the list of 13 demands is aimed at undermining the sovereignty of his country, and not the fight against terrorism.