The United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister warned Qatar on July 17, 2017 it could not belong to the Gulf Cooperation Council if it undermined regional security, calling for a "change of behaviour" but not "regime change." (AFP Photo)

DUBAI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The main problem with Qatar is its alliance with extremist ideology and its spending of billions of dollars to support individuals and terrorist organizations, UAE News Agency WAM reported on Monday.

Some of these individuals and terrorist organizations are linked to al-Qaida, according to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on Monday.

According to the official agency, Gargash said in a speech at the Royal Institute of International Studies in London, during a lecture entitled "The Gulf Crisis: its Causes and What will Lead," which dealt with the crisis with Qatar, including its background, consequences and prospects.

In his speech, Gargash explained "the background of the crisis, including Qatar's disturbing trends since the 1990s, and the UAE has been at risk of Islamic and jihadist extremism since the 1980s and has been developing policies and measures to combat it."

He pointed out that "the current crisis of dimensions beyond the domestic arena of the GCC (Gulf co-operation council)," noting the "need to put an end to official support for extremism and jihadism and terrorism in various parts of the Arab world."

Gargash said in his lecture that "the current crisis is not linked mainly to Iran, although the beneficiaries, and the fundamental problem with Qatar is its alliance with extremist ideology and spending billions to support individuals and terrorist organizations, some linked to al Qaida."

"The UAE is seeking a final solution not to prolong the crisis, but without turning a blind eye to the fundamental concerns that led to it," he said.

"The pressures, negotiations and agreements over the past 20 years have not succeeded in discarding Qatar's policies," he added.

"Diplomacy is the only path adopted by the UAE in this context and it does not intend to escalate beyond sovereign procedures and reach the level of international law. The UAE is ready to wait for the process to take its course and if it succeeds in changing Qatar's behavior, Everyone has to."