Qatar and Italy sign a nearly $6B deal for naval vessels

Qatar has signed a 5 billion euro ($5.9 billion) deal to purchase seven naval vessels from Italy.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced the deal Wednesday at a joint news conference in Doha with Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano. They did not provide more details on the deal.

The two ministers also say they discussed the ongoing crisis between Qatar and four Arab states that cut ties with it eight weeks ago. Earlier this week, the quartet countries of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain said they would be open to dialogue with Qatar if it accepts their demands to change its policies in the region first.

In remarks at the presser, Al Thani insisted that any talks respect Qatar's sovereignty.