JEDDAH: The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt, are meeting in Cairo Wednesday afternoon to discuss Qatar’s response to the four nations’ list of 13 demands amid the Gulf diplomatic crisis.
The meeting is being held after the four Arab nations — who accuse Qatar of supporting extremism — gave Doha an extra 48 hours to meet their demands after an initial 10-day deadline expired on Sunday.
On Tuesday night, the Arab quartet issued a joint statement saying they have received Qatar’s response to their demands for restoring relations.
The Saudi foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir received the Qatari response from Kuwaiti State Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah. Kuwait, a fellow member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar, is acting as mediator.
Details of the Qatari response was not revealed by the Saudi foreign ministry, but Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani was quoted by Agence France Presse as saying the list of demands “is unrealistic and is not actionable.”
The four countries severed diplomatic and travel ties with Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being an ally of regional foe Iran, charges that Doha denies.
They threatened further sanctions if Qatar did not comply with a list of 13 demands presented through mediator Kuwait 10 days ago, which Qatar rejected.