Qatar announced on Wednesday it had placed an order with Italy for seven warships in the midst of a nearly two-month diplomatic crisis with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its allies.

"We have signed a contract on behalf of the Qatari navy to acquire seven warships from Italy for five billion euros ($5.9 billion)," Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said at a joint news conference with his visiting Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano.

Source: AFP