France's Foreign Ministry said today that it picked its former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia as a Special Envoy to see how Paris could support mediation efforts in the rift between Qatar and several of its neighbours.<br/><br/>Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber has led mediation efforts to resolve the row, which began in early June when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut political and trade ties with Qatar.<br/><br/>France, which has close ties with Egypt and the United Arab Emirates while also being a major arms supplier to Qatar and a key ally of Saudi Arabia, has been relatively discreet on the crisis, largely sticking to calls for calm.