Al-Khalifa said he wondered why the Qatari emir did not go to Riyadh to explain his position when the crisis broke out.

:: Bahraini King Hamad al-Khalifa met with Timothy Lenderking, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arabian Gulf Affairs in the Near East Bureau at the US Department of State and the former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command Anthony Zinni at the al-Sakhir palace in Manama.

They discussed the bilateral relations between Bahrain and the US and ways to strengthen joint ties in the future.

The King said that the settlement of the Qatari crisis lies in Riyadh. According to the Bahrain News Agency, in earlier discussions with an Egyptian media delegation, al-Khalifa said he wondered why the Qatari emir did not go to Riyadh to explain his position when the crisis broke out.

“It is the duty of the younger brother to go to his older brother to explain himself, these are our customs and traditions,” he said.

He added that Bahrain was not happy to see Qatar in this situation, but they had adopted an inconsistent policy with Gulf countries and continued to interfere in Bahrain’s internal affairs.

“Qataris are our relatives and friends. They were our people before the rule by al-Thani,” the news site reported al-Khalifa as saying.

Al-Khalifa concluded by saying that if Qatar did not change its policies, the crisis will continue.

He stressed the important relations between Bahrain and Egypt, as well as the US, while discussing topics of mutual interest.