MBS needs skilled advisers to curb his reckless policies, says Qatar ex-official

Qatar's former prime minister has said Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince needs to appoint advisers who have the courage to steer him away from his reckless decision-making.

Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani made the comments in a lengthy interview with Russia Today's Arabic-language service aired on Saturday.

"Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman deserves to have high-level advisors because Saudi Arabia has a lot of competent people," Sheikh Hamad said.

"We cannot manage policy this way - with such arrogance… this causes the country many problems, wars and legal issues because there is no one who can say that this matter is dangerous and needs to be studied,"

"We want skilled youths to lead - not reckless ones," he added.

Prince Mohammed has recently come under fire over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country's Istanbul consulate, which he is believed to have ordered.

Turkish and US officials accuse Prince Mohammed of orchestrating the killing - an allegation Saudi authorities categorically refute.

"This is a shocking case that needs a strong decision to uncover who gave the instructions to carry out such a heinous operation," Sheikh Hamad said.

Two senior aides to Prince Mohammed have been officially implicated in Khashoggi's murder.

A Saudi-led bloc cut ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and seeking closer ties to Iran.

Qatar denies the allegations and accuses the countries of seeking regime change.

"Qatar is fine despite the siege and is overcoming the fabricated crisis. The blockading countries have not come up with any evidence so far of the accusation that Qatar supports terrorism," Sheikh Hamad said.