Alwaght- Qatar has placed an order for seven warships from Italy worth 5 billion euros as the crisis with Saudi-led regimes continues with no end in sight.
"We have signed a contract on behalf of the Qatari navy to acquire seven warships from Italy for five billion euros (5.9 billion U.S. dollars)," Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at a Doha press conference with his visiting Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano.
The arms deal follows the signing of a preliminary contract in June 2016 for the deal between the Italian group Fincantieri and Qatar for four corvettes, an amphibious vessel and two patrol boats.
The Qatari minister said Wednesday that the four Arab states had "showed no intention to resolve the crisis peacefully" at their last meeting on Sunday in Bahrain.
Alfano called for a de-escalation and a solution that shows "respect for international law" while expressing concern that citizens in the region who were suffering as a result of the fallout.
Since 5 June, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar, which they accuse of supporting what they call extremist groups like Palestinian Hamas resistance movement, the Muslim Brotherhood and having close ties with neighboring Iran.
Qatar has defended itself against the accusation saying the groups are not extremist, while insisting on having good ties with Iran.
The Saudi-led block later issued demands that Qatar must meet before ties are restored including curtailing its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shutting down the al-Jazeera TV channel, closing a Turkish military base in Doha and downgrading its ties with Iran. Qatar rejected the demands arguing they are illogical and infringe on its sovereignty.
