Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced on Friday his complete refusal to the invitation proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), protesting against the comments of the Qatari foreign minister.

The president made his decision in front of tens of thousands of his supporters gathering near the presidential palace to voice support for him.

"Thank you for your adherence to the constitutional legitimacy . .. We get our strength from your strong support ... We reject the initiative, no matter it came from Qatar or from other Gulf or Western countries," Saleh told the huge crowds.

"What Qatar offered, or its Al-Jazeera television or the states of GCC or Western countries offered, is considered as a blatant interference in our Yemeni internal affairs," Saleh said in reference to the comments made by the Qatari foreign minister on Thursday about "Qatar's efforts to make Saleh step down from office."

"They should respect themselves and pay attention to their mouths ... they should respect the feelings of the Yemeni people .. . we completely reject their initiative."