"The age of sanctions is over, and the cut of diplomatic relations, closure of borders, siege of countries are not solutions to crisis," Hamid Aboutalebi, Deputy Chief of Staff of the President for Political Affairs, tweeted on Monday.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have no choice but to "adopt democracy inside their borders and to pursue dialogue in the region," he said.
Aboutalebis words came as a reaction to Monday decisions by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar after they accused the latter of "terrorism support."
Following the decision by Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and Libya to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday, UAE airliners Emirates, Etihad and FlyDubai have decided to suspend flights to Doha until further notice.
Emirates, the Dubai government-controlled international carrier of the UAE, said in an e-mailed statement that "As instructed by the UAE government, Emirates will suspend its flights to and from Doha, starting from the morning of June 6, 2017, until further notice."
The Emirates last flight from Dubai to Doha will depart as EK847 at 02:30 local time on June 6, it added.
All customers booked on Emirates flights to and from Doha will be provided with alternative options, including full refunds on unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternate Emirates destinations, said the carrier.
Dubai-based budget carrier FlyDubai and Etihad Airways, owned by the government in Abu Dhabi (the UAE capital), also said they would stop flying to Doha until further notice.
After the diplomatic ties with Qatar were cut on early Monday, the price of oil gained over 1 percent while stock prices in the region retreated across the board.
Markets reacted to the escalation of the diplomatic row in the Gulf region and sent the price of oil 1.04 percent higher to 50.47 U.S. dollars per barrel.
In Doha, the Qatar Exchange Index plummeted 7.94 percent to hit 9,135, marking an 18-month low.
In the UAE, the Dubai financial market DFM dived 1.36 percent one hour after opening and fell below 3,300. Bank shares in particular posted heavy losses.
In Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, the ADX General Index declined by 0.36 percent, trading around 4,467.
The Bahraini All-Share Index bucked the regional slump and gained 0.58 percent.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
