UAE diplomat says Qatar's standoff with Arab states could prolonge

Dubai: A top Emirati diplomat has cautioned that a diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors could be prolonged.

The United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Relations Anwar al-Gargash said the countries "are heading toward a long estrangement" and that crisis is "far from a political solution." He published his comments on Twitter Friday.

The dispute between Qatar, on one side, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on the other erupted more than a month ago. 

Earlier in the week, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in the Gulf, meeting separately with officials in the region to try and find a resolution to the impasse.

The Arab quartet accuse Qatar of disrupting regional security by supporting Islamist opposition groups and extremists. Qatar denies the allegations.