Quartet says military action against Qatar was never considered

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt have never considered military escalation against Qatar, a statement issued by the four countries confirmed.

The statement was released following a joint press conference held in Washington by President Donald Trump and Kuwaiti Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.

Mr Trump said he and Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Sabah could resolve the Qatar crisis and offered direct US mediation in the four month dispute "right here in the White House."

Sheikh Sabah hinted at a potential resolution when he said that Doha has agreed to sit at the negotiation table and discuss the list of 13 demands.

While the Quartet’s statement thanked the Emir of Kuwait for his mediation efforts, it made it clear that military force against Qatar was never on the table.

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"The Quartet regrets what the Emir of Kuwait said about the mediation succeeding in preventing a military intervention. (The Quartet) stresses that the military option was never — and never will be — an option in any way."

The statement also included a note of thanks to Mr Trump for insisting that the only path to resolve this issue is stop financing terror.

Shortly after the press conference, Qatari foreign minister Abdulrahman Al Thani gave a contradictory statement to the Doha-based Al Jazeera News Channel, elaborating that his nation wouldn't enter any negotiations until the sanctions imposed by the Quartet are lifted, according to news site Arab News.

"The Qatari FM's insistence on putting pre-conditions to the discussions confirms that Qatar is not serious about them," the statement said.