Qatar denies Gulf bloc exit rumours

DOHA: Qatar denied on Thursday that it plans to quit the Gulf Cooperation Council as it prepares to mark three years of isolation led by the regional bloc´s heavyweight Saudi Arabia.

However, the gas-rich state cautioned that the effort by three of the GCC´s six members to isolate Doha economically and politically meant people in the region were "doubting and questioning" the organisation.

Rumours of Qatar´s imminent departure from the GCC, founded in 1981 and headquartered in Riyadh, have been swirling in Gulf capitals in recent weeks, with analysts and diplomats flagging it as a possibility.