Iraq rejects Saudi-led blockade of Qatar, urges dialogue

An Iraqi diplomat has said his country is opposed to a Saudi-led blockade on Qatar and urged for the spat to be resolved through dialogue.

The Charge d'Affaires of the Iraqi embassy in Doha made the comments to Al-Jazeera in an interview published on Monday.

"Iraq has called on parties in the Gulf crisis to sit at the negotiating table to resolve this peacefully and has supported the Kuwaiti initiative," Abdel Sattar al-Janabi was quoted as saying.

"Iraq has taken unwavering positions towards conflicts in the region. Its stance has remained supportive of peaceful solutions to the crisis in Syria and Yemen and rejected the blockade on Qatar," he added.

Riyadh and its allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed all ties with Qatar in June 2017 on accusations the emirate was too close to Iran and to extremists including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Doha has repeatedly denied the claims and accused its rivals of seeking regime change.

The comments from the Iraqi diplomat come despite Riyadh's recent attempts to boost its influence in Baghdad.

This month, Saudi Arabia reopened a consulate in Baghdad for the first time in nearly 30 years and announced a one billion dollars aid package for the war-torn country.

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