Qatar: disagreement with Saudi Arabia will not affect relations

Qatar on Thursday played down its differences with Saudi Arabia, noting that it is a "misunderstanding" which will not affect relations.

However, relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been witnessing tension because of programs broadcast recently by the Qatari space TV station al-Jazeera over which Saudi Arabia said they are insulting for the Saudi royal family as well as because of Qatar's relations with Israel.

Gulf officials said they expect Riyadh to summon its ambassador from Doha if these differences will not be settled very soon. They said that Riyadh will also boycott the annual summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council Qatar will host this year.

Meantime, an official in the Qatari foreign ministry said on Thursday that relations between the two states will continue to be fraternal. He added "the elder sister (Saudi Arabia) will never summon its ambassador nor abstain from attending the GCC (Gulf) summit. The misunderstanding will be solve amicably very soon."