Qatar's emir makes his first televised address on the crisis, denouncing the 'malicious smear campaign' against Doha.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has called for talks to help resolve the Gulf crisis in his first official speech to his nation since the blockade began in June.

Sheikh Tamim denounced the "malicious smear campaign" against Qatar, but he also said the time has come to spare the people from the political differences between governments.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties and imposed sanctions on Qatar on June 5, accusing the country of financing and supporting "terrorism" - a charge Qatar has strongly denied.

What's next? Will there be direct talks to end the worst crisis to hit the Gulf in decades?

Presenter: Kamahl Santamaria

Guests:

Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani - Qatar's ambassador to Germany

Samer Shehata - associate professor with the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

Andreas Kreig - associate professor at the defence studies department at King's College London

Source: Al Jazeera News