DOHA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Qatar moved on Sunday to avoid a further escalation of tensions with its Gulf neighbors by saying that their citizens are "free to remain in the country."
Qatar's Interior Ministry said in a statement that nationals of countries that have recently severed diplomatic ties with Qatar are free to remain in the Gulf state in line with existing regulations.
The statement, carried by Qatar's state news agency, said there was no change in policy towards the nationals of "brotherly and friendly countries, which cut or reduced diplomatic relations following the malicious and hostile campaigns against Qatar."
Also on Sunday, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said that Qatar is willing to understand the concerns of fellow Gulf states and to hold a dialogue to end the current tension.
"The Qataris are willing to hold dialogue to bring upon a solution to the matter and bolster peace and security in the region," the Kuwaiti foreign minister said in a statement.
The statement came after the Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain as well as a few non-Gulf countries severed ties with Qatar over alleged sheltering members of terrorist organizations, an allegation Qatar strongly rejected.
Among the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Kuwait and Oman did not join the anti-Qatar blockade and the Kuwaiti leadership has been communicating with all parties of the crisis to reach a solution.
The Kuwaiti foreign minister said in the statement that his country is "determined to find a solution to the current dilemma."
Meanwhile, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have showed signs of easing tensions with Qatar.
UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on Sunday both said that lenience should be shown for Qatari-Emirati and Qatari-Saudi families on humanitarian grounds.
"Is it the beginning of reason and wisdom?" Anwar Mohammed Gargash, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, tweeted.
Iran's southern ports in the Persian Gulf are all prepared to send goods to Qatar, deputy head of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization, Jalil Eslami, said on Sunday.
"We are ready to load and send the materials and goods needed by the Qataris from the ports in southern Iran," Eslami said, adding that a consignment of commodities has already been sent from Iran's Bushehr port to Qatar at the demand of Doha.
The official said that the traffic of cargo vessels between the Iranian and Qatari ports faces no problems, and negotiations are underway between Tehran and Doha to dispatch goods to Qatar.
Also, Iran's national flag carrier, Iran Air, announced that it has carried four consignments of foodstuff to Qatar after the Arab country was isolated and sanctioned by its other Arab neighbors.
Moscow on Saturday joined other nations in calling for dialogue, after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged Saudi Arabia and its allies to ease their "blockade" of Qatar.
Washington has sent mixed signals on the crisis. While Tillerson and others have called for an easing of tensions, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said Qatar had "historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level."
