No blockade states in previous summit: Qatari official

By Hussein Mahmoud Ragab Elkabany, Safiye Karabacak and Zeynep Hilal Karyagdi </p> <p>RIYADH (AA) – A Qatari official slammed Bahrain FM’s criticism on Sunday over Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s absence in the 39th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit despite invitation from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.</p> <p>Ahmad bin Roumaihi, Information Director of Qatari Foreign Ministry, responded through social media, and said that the Qatari emir attended the last GCC summit in Kuwait because no boycotting state leaders attended the meeting. </p> <p>“No need to listen to advices from countries who are dependent on others,” Roumaihi said on his twitter account on Sunday.</p> <p>In lieu of Qatari Emir al-Thani, only state ministers represented Qatar at the one-day summit of the GCC, a six-nation bloc of oil-rich Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar. </p> <p>In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain collectively severed ties with Doha, accusing it of supporting terrorism, and imposed an air/land/sea embargo on Qatar, which vociferously denies the allegations.