Saudi allies grant 48-hour extension on demands
– Qatar was to respond yesterday after Saudi Arabia and its allies gave Doha 48 hours to accept a series of demands or face further sanctions.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt announced yesterday they were pushing back a deadline for Qatar to agree to a list of 13 demands they issued on June 22.
They said they were extending the ultimatum, due to expire at the end of the day on Sunday, at the request of Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.
Kuwait has been acting as a mediator in the crisis.
Doha said Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani would deliver its response by hand to Kuwait’s emir.
The demands include 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.
Saudi Arabia and its allies announced on June 5 they were severing ties with their Gulf neigh- bour, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
They accused Doha of supporting extremism and of being too close to Saudi Arabia’s regional arch-rival, Iran, which Qatar has strongly denied.
The crisis has raised concerns of growing instability in the region, home to some of the world’s largest energy producers and several US military facilities.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, on a tour of several Gulf states, called for a “serious dialogue” to end the crisis.
“We are worried that the distrust and the disunity could weaken all the parties concerned as well as the entire peninsula.”
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 and took various steps against Qatari companies 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 that further sanctions could be imposed. – AFP