Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, speaks during a meeting of the Federal National Council in Abu Dhabi.
REUTERS/Ben JobLONDON, July 17 (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates was not responsible for an alleged hack of Qatari websites which helped spark a month-long diplomatic rift with Doha, the UAE's minister of state for foreign affairs said on Monday.
Anwar Gargash denied as false a story in the Washington Post that cited U.S. officials saying the UAE had orchestrated the hack of Qatar's state news agency.
Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, was quoted in May as praising Gaza's ruling Hamas movement and calling Iran an "Islamic power".
However, Gargash said the UAE would not escalate its boycott by asking companies to choose between doing business with it or with Qatar.
(Reporting By Karin Strohecker; Writing by Jumana Fraije; Editing by Alison Williams)
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