The conflict between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain — has become a “lose-lose situation” and threatens the security of the region, said Lolwah R. M. Al-Khater, spokesperson for Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor in Washington, DC.

“This is definitely not a healthy situation and has many other consequences, including political consequences, for the entire region,” Al-Khater said, referring to the crisis that erupted in June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the UAE and its allies, including Egypt, severed diplomatic relations with Qatar. She further stated, “It is going to compromise the security of the region in general.”

Al-Khater, appointed spokesperson in 2017 by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said that despite multiple mediation efforts — including calls by US President Donald Trump for meetings between the opposing sides — little progress is being made to resolve the nearly two-year-old conflict. “It has become the new norm in a way, … [and] there are thousands of families that are paying the price for this.”

Al-Khater, who previously served as minister plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as director of planning and quality at the Qatar Tourism Authority, also spoke about Qatar’s vision for Syria, Afghanistan and the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, among other topics. Following the May 23 announcement that the Islamic State (IS or ISIS) had lost its last territorial stronghold in Syria, questions surrounding reconstruction efforts have become even more pressing.