Dubai: Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said his country was ready to provide food and medical aid to Qatar if needed, Sky News Arabia reported, a week after Riyadh and other Arab capitals cut ties with their Gulf neighbour.

Jubeir defended the Arab powers` move against the gas-rich emirate as a boycott not a blockade, saying his government was exercising its "sovereign right", the channel reported in a series of newsflashes.