Defiant Doha responds to Riyadh鈥檚 list
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QATAR responded to a list of demands from Saudi Arabia and its allies yesterday after they agreed to give a defiant Doha another 48 hours to address their grievances.
Details of the response were not immediately available, but a Gulf official said Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani had delivered it during a short visit to Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator in the crisis.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt said early yesterday that they were pushing back a deadline for Qatar to agree to a list of 13 demands.
The ultimatum had been due to expire at the end of the day on Sunday but was extended at the request of Kuwait’s emir.
The demands included Doha ending support for the Muslim Brotherhood, closing broadcaster Al-Jazeera, downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran and shutting down a Turkish military base in the emirate.
Sheikh Mohammed had earlier said the list of demands was “made to be rejected,” and yesterday British lawyers for Qatar denounced the demands as “an affront to international law.”
“They are reminiscent of the extreme and punitive conduct of ‘bully’ states that have historically resulted in war,” the lawyers said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia and its allies announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neighbor, sparking the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the region in decades. They accused Qatar of supporting extremism and of being too close to Saudi Arabia’s arch-rival Iran.
The crisis has raised concerns of growing instability in the region, home to some of the world’s largest energy exporters and several key Western allies who host US military bases.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who began a tour of several Gulf states yesterday, called for “serious dialogue” to end the crisis.
Riyadh and its supporters have already severed air, sea and ground links with Qatar, cutting off vital routes for imports including food.
They also ordered Qatari citizens to leave their territories and took various steps against Qatari firms and financial institutions.
It is unclear what further measures will be taken if Qatar fails to meet the demands, but the UAE’s ambassador to Russia Omar Ghobash warned last week that further sanctions could be imposed.
Qatar has long pursued a more independent foreign policy than many of its neighbors, who tend to follow the lead of regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has called for compromise and hosted senior Gulf officials, but his efforts have been undermined by remarks from President Donald Trump apparently supporting Riyadh.
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